Clarence Paul "Sally" Miles (June 21, 1879 – May 2, 1966) was an

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 with ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player, coach, and college administrator. He served as the head football coach at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (VPI)—now known as

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

—from 1905 to 1906, compiling a record of 14–3–2. Miles also was the head baseball coach at VPI in 1908 and 1913. He served as the school's

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

from 1920 to 1934. Known as "Mr. VPI," Miles spent nearly 59 years at Virginia Tech in a variety of capacities. His contributions have been recognized by the university by naming a playing field, a football stadium,

Miles Stadium Miles Stadium was a college football stadium located on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia. It was the home field of Virginia Tech's football team from 1926 to 1964, unt ...

, that once stood directly behind the War Memorial Gym (where Payne Hall, Pedrew-Yates Hall, and New Residence Hall East, now stand), a professorship, and a building on the Virginia Tech campus in his honor. Miles died two weeks before the dedication of Clarence P. Miles Hall, a residence hall that houses 217 male students. Miles' nickname "Sally" was a shortened form of "Salskinner," which he brought with him from high school. As an undergraduate, Miles was captain of the baseball team. As a graduate student, he was captain of the football team and was named to the first team of the All-Southern team as a tackle. Miles remained on campus to teach German (personal knowledge), chemistry, and to coach football and baseball. Miles' 1905 team is credited with VPI's first-ever victory over the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. Tech and UVA did not play again until 1923. Miles also served as athletic director, treasurer and dean of the college (then a combined version of a provost and admissions director). He helped organize the Southern Conference, serving as its president. Miles tried, but failed to earn membership for Virginia Tech in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

shortly after it was formed in 1953. Virginia Tech ultimately joined in ACC in 2004. Miles was inducted into the

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...

(the state-wide organization that recognizes athletic achievements by state natives, or who played or coached for teams in the state) in 1974, and into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1982.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Sally 1879 births 1966 deaths American football tackles Virginia Tech Hokies athletic directors Virginia Tech Hokies baseball coaches Virginia Tech Hokies baseball players Virginia Tech Hokies football coaches Virginia Tech Hokies football players Virginia Tech faculty