William Edward Miller (January 3, 1957 – January 3, 2019) was a running back in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. Miller played his college football at

Ouachita Baptist University Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The university's name is taken from the Ouachita (pronounced WAH-shi-tah) River, which forms the eastern campus boundary. It is affiliated with the Arka ...

from 1975 to 1978, where he rushed for 3813 career yards and was inducted into their Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003. He joined the CFL's

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

in 1980, rushing for 1053 yards. He was named an all star and won the

CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award The Most Outstanding Rookie Award is annually awarded to the player judged to be the best player in his first year in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Frank M. Gibson Trophy winner from the East Division, and th ...

. He rushed for 684 yard in 1981 and 1076 yards in 1982, being named an all star in 1982. He played three seasons total with Winnipeg and totaled 21 touchdowns. He moved to 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 ...

in 1984 with the

Pittsburgh Maulers Pittsburgh Maulers may refer to: * Pittsburgh Maulers (1984), United States Football League team * Pittsburgh Maulers (2022) The Pittsburgh Maulers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Maulers compet ...

. After playing 1985 with the

Orlando Renegades The Orlando Renegades were a professional American football team that played in Orlando, Florida, Orlando, Florida, in the United States Football League (USFL) for a single season in 1985. Before its season in Orlando, the franchise played in Wash ...

, he returned to the CFL for one last season, playing 5 games with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

in 1986. Miller died on his 62nd birthday, January 3, 2019, from cancer.

References

1957 births 2019 deaths People from Rison, Arkansas Players of American football from Arkansas Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Toronto Argonauts players Canadian football running backs Pittsburgh Maulers players Washington Federals/Orlando Renegades players Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners Ouachita Baptist Tigers football players Deaths from cancer in Arkansas {{Canadianfootball-runningback-stub