Frederick C. Miller (January 26, 1906 – December 17, 1954) was a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player, an All-American

tackle Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking ...

under head coach

Knute Rockne Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used whi ...

at the University of Notre Dame, posthumously elected to the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1985. He later served as an unpaid assistant coach for the Irish, flying in from Milwaukee several times a week. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Miller was the son of Carl A. Miller of Germany, and Clara Miller (no relation), a daughter of Miller Brewing Company founder Frederick Miller, also a German immigrant. Succeeding his younger cousin Harry John (1919–1992), Miller became the president of the family brewing company in 1947 at age 41 and had a major role in bringing Major League Baseball to Wisconsin, moving the

Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

from Boston to Milwaukee in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

. He coaxed Lou Perini into moving them into the new

County Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also used for Green Bay Packer ...

and was made a director for the team. The Braves later played in consecutive World Series in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

and

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

, both against the New York Yankees. Both series went the full seven games with Milwaukee winning the former and New York the latter.

Death

The father of two sons and six daughters, Miller was killed in a plane crash at age 48 on December 17, 1954 while on the way to a hunting trip in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.The Plane Crash that Changed the Future of Milwaukee Baseball and Miller Brewing Company
/ref> The company plane, a converted twin-engine

Lockheed Ventura The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II. The Ventura first entered combat in Europe as a bomber with the RAF in late 1942. Designated PV-1 by the United States Navy (US Navy), it entered combat in 1 ...

that was bound for Winnipeg’s airport on a Friday evening, had trouble with both engines and crashed shortly after takeoff from Mitchell Field in Milwaukee. Also killed were his oldest son, 20-year-old Fred, Jr., and the two company pilots, Joseph and Paul Laird. The Monday funeral for the Millers at Gesu Church was attended by thousands.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Fred 1906 births 1954 deaths Accidental deaths in Wisconsin American brewers American football tackles College Football Hall of Fame inductees Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Players of American football from Milwaukee Sportspeople from Milwaukee 20th-century American businesspeople Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1954 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States American people of German descent