Cleophus Miller (born September 5, 1951 in Gould, Arkansas)"Cleo Miller."
''www.nfl.com.'' Retrieved October 18, 2013. is a President-General of the

Universal Negro Improvement Association The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) is a black nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican immigrant to the United States, and Amy Ashwood Garvey. The Pan-Africa ...

and a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

who played nine seasons for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

. He is the uncle of NFL defensive lineman Frank Okam of the Houston Texans.

NFL career

Miller, who played collegiately at the

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is a public historically black university in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Founded in 1873, it is the second oldest public college or university in the state of Arkansas. UAPB is part of the University o ...

, signed a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

contract with the Kansas City Chiefs after not being taken in the

1974 NFL Draft The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks. Many experts consider the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers to have ha ...

. Miller played well as rookie, rushing for 186 yards on 40 carries (4.7 avg.) and catching 14 passes for 149 yards (10.6 avg.) Midway through his second season, Miller was traded to the Cleveland Browns, and finished the 1975 season with only 13 carries. Miller earned a starting role in Browns' backfield for the 1976 season, a job he would hold through 1979. In 1976 Miller ran for 613 yards and four touchdowns (4.0 avg.) as a fullback blocking for All-Pro running back

Greg Pruitt Gregory Donald Pruitt (born August 18, 1951) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) from 1973 through 1984. He was selected to five Pro Bowls, four as a member of the Cleveland Browns and one as a member o ...

. The Browns finished the season with a record of 9-5, but failed to make the playoffs despite ranking 9th in the league in rushing. In 1977, Miller had the best season of his career. He rushed for 756 yards on 163 carries, career-highs in both categories, and scored four touchdowns. He also set a career-high with 41 receptions. The Browns were 8th in the league in rushing yards and had the 3rd best yards per carry (4.3), but they only managed a 6-8 record. After starting nine games and rushing for 336 yards in 1978, Miller was relegated to a back-up role for the remainder of his career. In 1980, the Browns won the AFC Central Division with an 11-5 record behind the efforts of All-Pros Mike Pruitt,

Ozzie Newsome Ozzie Newsome Jr. (born March 16, 1956) is an American former professional football player and executive who is the executive vice president of player personnel of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Newsome was a tight e ...

and

Brian Sipe Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word me ...

, who was also named league MVP. Miller contributed in a reserve role, rushing for 139 yards on 28 carries (5.0 avg.) and one touchdown. Nicknamed the Kardiac KidsMorona, Joey
"Former Browns Robert Jackson and Cleo Miller discuss the Kardiac Kids days."
''www.cleveland.com'', January 1, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2012. the Browns lost in the divisional round of the playoffs to the eventual Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders 14-12. Miller appeared in the game, carrying the ball only one time for one yard. In Miller's final NFL season he appeared in only five games during the

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

-shortened 1982 season. He finished his NFL career with 2,492 yards rushing (4.2 avg.) and 16 touchdowns. Miller also caught 140 passes for 1,175 yards and one touchdown. He is eleventh in Browns history in rushing yards and thirteenth in rushing touchdowns.

USFL career

In 1983, Miller signed a free-agent contract with the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played i ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

. Playing as a fullback, Miller ran for 374 yards and helped the Panthers win the 1983 USFL championship. In 1984 Miller played on a Panthers team that finished with a 10-8 record. They made the playoffs, where they lost to the Los Angeles Express 37-31 in triple overtime, and Miller retired after the season. He later served as Director of Operations for the

Spring Football League The Spring Football League (SFL) was a short lived professional american football minor league that existed for only one season in 2000. Spring football Founded by several ex-NFL players such as Eric Dickerson, Drew Pearson, Bo Jackson, an ...

in 1999-2000, and was inducted into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 2002.

Personal life

In 1988 Miller succeeded Mason Hargrave as President-General of the

founded by

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...

."Greetings from the President."
''www.theunia-acl.com.'' Retrieved October 20, 2013. He and former Browns teammate Robert Jackson served as honorary captains for the Browns game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 1, 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Cleo 1951 births Living people People from Lincoln County, Arkansas American football running backs Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions football players Kansas City Chiefs players Cleveland Browns players Merrill High School alumni

NFL career

USFL career

Personal life

See also

References