Ralph Miller
Encyclopedia
Ralph H. Miller was an American basketball
coach. A native of Chanute, Kansas
, Miller coached at the University of Wichita (1951–1964), the University of Iowa
(1964–1970) and Oregon State University
(1970–1989), compiling a 657-382 (.632) overall record in 38 seasons combined. He was enshrined to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach on May 3, 1988. His teams had losing records only three times.
and college
. At Chanute High School
in Kansas
, he won letters
in football
, track
, basketball
, golf
and tennis
. He was an all-state basketball player for three years.
In college at the University of Kansas
, he won three letters as a football
quarterback
and three in basketball. He set the state record in the low hurdles
in 1937. He was all-state three consecutive years in football and basketball. By 1940, he was beating the 1932 gold medalist in the decathlon Jim Baush in seven of 10 events.
As an undergraduate, he was coached by the legendary Phog Allen
. In one of Miller's classes, a guest lecturer was Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.
After he earned a bachelor's degree
in physical education
in 1942, he spent three years in the Army Air Forces, leaving as a First Lieutenant
.
Miller's first coaching position was at Mount Oread High School in Lawrence
, and the team consisted primarily of professors' sons. The season did not go well and left a sour taste in his mouth towards coaching basketball.
Miller didn't have to go overseas during World War II
because of knee problems that began at KU. He enlisted in the Air Force and held desk jobs in Florida
, Texas
and California
. After the war, he became an assistant director of recreation and oversaw a swimming pool and playground in Redlands
, California
. Soon, he joined a friend in the business of hauling fruit.
In 1949, eight years after his ill-fated first attempt at coaching, a friend from Wichita, Kansas
named Fritz Snodgrass sent Miller a telegram asking if he might be interested in returning to guide his son's team at East High School
. At East, Miller became a student of the game. He was fascinated by the full-court press zone defense
that had been developed at Kansas in 1930, but he wondered why it was only used after a basket was made. Nobody could give Miller a solid answer, and so he began tinkering with ways to press after missed shots, too. His idea was to assign each player a man to guard, and when an errant shot went up, they were immediately to pick up their man. His ideas were very successful. In three years at East High, Miller's teams finished second, third and first in the state using his system of execution and pressure basketball.
) offered him a job. Miller spent 13 years at Wichita, winning 220 games, earning three NIT
berths and a spot in the NCAA Tournament
in 1964.
of the Big Ten Conference
, where he built one of the greatest offensive juggernauts in NCAA history. The Hawkeyes averaged more than 100 points a game in 1970 and went undefeated in the Big Ten
en route to an NCAA Tournament berth.
(876), Hank Iba
(767), Ed Diddle (759), Phog Allen
(746), Ray Meyer
(724), and John Wooden
(664). Miller's teams actually won 674 games, but the total was reduced by forfeits because one of his players, Lonnie Shelton
, had signed with an agent while still in college in 1976.
The floor of Gill Coliseum
, Oregon State's basketball arena, is named Ralph Miller Court. The street in front of Gill Coliseum was renamed Ralph Miller Drive shortly upon his retirement.
class, and the students were seated alphabetically. Next to him was an attractive co-ed from Topeka
named Emily Jean Milam; five years later they were married. The couple had two sons, Ralph Jr. and Paul, and two daughters, Susan Langer and Shannon Jakosky.
The Gymnasium at Chanute High School is named after Ralph Miller, and is home to the Ralph Miller Classic, an eight team tournament.
Miller had an unequaled addiction to cigarettes, and chain smoke More brand cigarettes during practices, on team buses and in his office.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
coach. A native of Chanute, Kansas
Chanute, Kansas
Chanute is a city in Neosho County, Kansas, United States. Founded on January 1, 1873, it was named after railroad engineer and aviation pioneer Octave Chanute. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,119...
, Miller coached at the University of Wichita (1951–1964), the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
(1964–1970) and Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
(1970–1989), compiling a 657-382 (.632) overall record in 38 seasons combined. He was enshrined to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach on May 3, 1988. His teams had losing records only three times.
Early life
Miller was a standout athlete in high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
. At Chanute High School
Chanute High School
-Curriculum:Chanute High School offers a comprehensive college-preparatory curriculum. Advanced Placement classes are offered in biology, calculus, European history and literature.-Extracurricular activities:...
in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, he won letters
Varsity letter
A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...
in football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
. He was an all-state basketball player for three years.
In college at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, he won three letters as a football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
and three in basketball. He set the state record in the low hurdles
Hurdling
Hurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...
in 1937. He was all-state three consecutive years in football and basketball. By 1940, he was beating the 1932 gold medalist in the decathlon Jim Baush in seven of 10 events.
As an undergraduate, he was coached by the legendary Phog Allen
Phog Allen
Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen was an American basketball and baseball player, coach of American football, basketball, and baseball, college athletics administrator, and osteopathic physician...
. In one of Miller's classes, a guest lecturer was Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.
After he earned a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
in 1942, he spent three years in the Army Air Forces, leaving as a First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
.
Miller's first coaching position was at Mount Oread High School in Lawrence
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
, and the team consisted primarily of professors' sons. The season did not go well and left a sour taste in his mouth towards coaching basketball.
Miller didn't have to go overseas during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
because of knee problems that began at KU. He enlisted in the Air Force and held desk jobs in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. After the war, he became an assistant director of recreation and oversaw a swimming pool and playground in Redlands
Redlands, California
Redlands is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 68,747, up from 63,591 at the 2000 census. The city is located east of downtown San Bernardino.- History :...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Soon, he joined a friend in the business of hauling fruit.
In 1949, eight years after his ill-fated first attempt at coaching, a friend from Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
named Fritz Snodgrass sent Miller a telegram asking if he might be interested in returning to guide his son's team at East High School
Wichita High School East
Wichita High School East, known locally as East, is a public, co-educational secondary school located near the center of Wichita, Kansas With a student population of 2,200, it is the largest high school in the state. Originally known as Wichita High School, East was the first of eight traditional...
. At East, Miller became a student of the game. He was fascinated by the full-court press zone defense
Zone defense
Zone defense is a type of defense, used in team sports, which is the alternative to man-to-man defense; instead of each player guarding a corresponding player on the other team, each defensive player is given an area known as a "zone" to cover....
that had been developed at Kansas in 1930, but he wondered why it was only used after a basket was made. Nobody could give Miller a solid answer, and so he began tinkering with ways to press after missed shots, too. His idea was to assign each player a man to guard, and when an errant shot went up, they were immediately to pick up their man. His ideas were very successful. In three years at East High, Miller's teams finished second, third and first in the state using his system of execution and pressure basketball.
University of Wichita
In 1951, the president of the University of Wichita (now Wichita State UniversityWichita State University
Wichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....
) offered him a job. Miller spent 13 years at Wichita, winning 220 games, earning three NIT
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
berths and a spot in the NCAA Tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
in 1964.
University of Iowa
In the spring of 1964, Miller left for the University of IowaUniversity of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
of the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
, where he built one of the greatest offensive juggernauts in NCAA history. The Hawkeyes averaged more than 100 points a game in 1970 and went undefeated in the Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
en route to an NCAA Tournament berth.
Oregon State University
In 1970, Miller was offered the job at Oregon State after Paul Valenti stepped down. Miller had only two losing seasons in 19 years at OSU. He retired as the second all-time winningest coach in Oregon State history with 359 victories.Retirement
Miller retired at age 70 in 1989, with a record of 657–382 (.632). The 657 victories were the most by an active coach and ranked him seventh among major-college coaches, trailing only Adolph RuppAdolph Rupp
Adolph Frederick Rupp was one of the most successful coaches in the history of American college basketball. Rupp is fourth in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching...
(876), Hank Iba
Henry Iba
Henry Payne "Hank" Iba was an American basketball and baseball coach.-Early life:Iba was born and raised in Easton, Missouri...
(767), Ed Diddle (759), Phog Allen
Phog Allen
Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen was an American basketball and baseball player, coach of American football, basketball, and baseball, college athletics administrator, and osteopathic physician...
(746), Ray Meyer
Ray Meyer
Raymond Joseph Meyer was an American men's collegiate basketball coach from Chicago, Illinois. He was well-known for coaching at DePaul University from 1942 to 1984, compiling a 724–354 record...
(724), and John Wooden
John Wooden
John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
(664). Miller's teams actually won 674 games, but the total was reduced by forfeits because one of his players, Lonnie Shelton
Lonnie Shelton
Lonnie Jewel Shelton is a retired American National Basketball Association player who played from 1976-1985. He played college basketball for Oregon State University. Shelton was drafted by the Memphis Sounds of the American Basketball Association in 1975 but elected to stay in college...
, had signed with an agent while still in college in 1976.
The floor of Gill Coliseum
Gill Coliseum
Gill Coliseum is a 10,400-seat multi-purpose arena located on the campus of Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. Opened in 1949, the arena is home to the Oregon State Beavers' basketball, wrestling, volleyball, and gymnastics teams. It is named after famed basketball coach Amory T...
, Oregon State's basketball arena, is named Ralph Miller Court. The street in front of Gill Coliseum was renamed Ralph Miller Drive shortly upon his retirement.
Personal life
In the fall of 1937, while at the University of Kansas, he took a physiologyPhysiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
class, and the students were seated alphabetically. Next to him was an attractive co-ed from Topeka
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
named Emily Jean Milam; five years later they were married. The couple had two sons, Ralph Jr. and Paul, and two daughters, Susan Langer and Shannon Jakosky.
The Gymnasium at Chanute High School is named after Ralph Miller, and is home to the Ralph Miller Classic, an eight team tournament.
Miller had an unequaled addiction to cigarettes, and chain smoke More brand cigarettes during practices, on team buses and in his office.