The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Tony Miller excelled in multiple sports during career
Nowadays, Tony Miller can be seen watching his son, Anthony, play baseball for Lorain High School or coaching youth teams in the area, but it wasn’t all that long ago Miller was a standout athlete in his own right for Southview High School and beyond.
Miller was a three-sport athlete at Southview, claiming varsity letters in football, wrestling and baseball before continuing on at the University of Toledo and in Major League Baseball, achievements earning him a spot among this year’s Lorain Sports Hall of Fame inductees.
Miller had much success in both football and wrestling. As a three-year starter for the Saints, he earned All-Ohio honors after scoring 18 touchdowns and accumulating 1,800 all-purpose yards his senior season. He was a state-qualifier on the wrestling team his junior year before an injury kept him out of the tournament the following season.
But it was baseball that took Miller to the professional level.
He was noticed by scouts after batting .380 as a sophomore and continued to hone his skills as high school progressed. He accepted a scholarship to Toledo where he played both football and baseball.
Miller played for Toledo from 1999-2001 and, again, had success on the gridiron as a defensive back and kick Colorado Rockies’ Tony Miller, center, is congratulated by teammates after hitting a game-winning double in the bottom of the ninth inning against the White Sox in a spring training game in Tucson, Ariz., on March 15, 2006.
returner, but it was on the baseball field where he truly excelled.
As a freshman, he led the Rockets with a .333 batting average before leading the team in stolen bases and runs scored as a sophomore. Currently Miller is among the top 10 in program history in seven categories:
• Tied for first place for single-season stolen bases (29)
• Second in single-season runs scored (63)
• Fourth in career-batting average (.340)
• Sixth in single-season RBI (50)
• Seventh in runs scored
in a career (125)
• Eighth in single-season total bases (115)
• Tied for ninth for single-season hits (71)
With numbers like that, it’s no surprise Miller was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 10th round of the 2001 MLB Draft.
He worked his way through the minors before becoming an all-star and team MVP for the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox.
Miller completed his minor league career in the Blue Jays organization in 2006, where injuries ultimately ended his professional career. He played in
a total of 572 professional games.
Miller resides in Lorain with his wife, three sons and daughter, and will be enshrined as a member of the 2018 Lorain Sports Hall of Fame Class on May 19.
The 49th Lorain Sports Hall of Fame enshrinement banquet is May 19 at German’s Villa, 3330 Liberty Ave., Vermilion. For ticket information, contact Ron Feldkamp (440-244-3449) or Tom Bauer (440-2138719, tbauer0403@gmail. com).