John Miller
Personal information
Full name John Miller[1]
Date of birth c. 1870[2]
Place of birth Dumbarton, Scotland
Date of death 1933 (aged 62–63)
Place of death Glasgow, Scotland[2]
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1890–1891 Union Dumbarton
1891–1892 Dumbarton 21 (16)
1892–1893 Liverpool 21 (22)
1893–1894 The Wednesday 13 (7)
1894 Airdrieonians
1894–1895 Clyde 17 (12)
1895–1897 Derby County 62 (20)
1897–1898 Bolton Wanderers 8 (0)
International career
1892 Scottish League XI 1 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Miller (c. 1870 in Dumbarton – 1933 in Glasgow) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Bolton Wanderers, Derby County and The Wednesday.[1][4]

Career

Miller began his career with his local club Union Dumbarton, before being signed by Dumbarton in 1891.[5] He made his debut and scored on 2 May 1891 against St Mirren, which was the final league game of the season.[6] He then played two weeks later and scored in the League Play-Off against Rangers.[7] In the 1891–92 season, Miller made 20 league appearances and scored 15 goals as the Sons won the title outright, having shared the championship the previous year.[8] At its end, he played for the Scottish League XI against the rival Scottish Football Alliance, scoring twice.[9][10]

In June 1892, Miller joined Liverpool in their first season.[11] He made his debut and scored the sixth goal in Liverpool's first ever match, which was a 7–1 win friendly against Rotherham Town on 1 September.[12] Miller was his league debut on 24 September against Bury, in which he also scored.[13] He went on to make a further 20 league appearances and score a further 21 goals, including 5 against Fleetwood Rangers on 3 December, helping Liverpool to win the Lancashire League.[14][15] He also made 3 appearances in the FA Cup in which he scored a hat-trick against Nantwich on 15 October.[14][16] Miller played all of Liverpool's matches in the Lancashire Senior Cup and Liverpool Senior Cup (4 and 3 appearances, respectively) and scored a total of 3 goals.[17]

At the end of the season, Miller wanted a pay rise of "£100 down and £3 per week" which was rejected by Liverpool, so after his contract expired in June 1893, he signed for The Wednesday, playing in the First Division.[14][18] He played in the first match of the season, but was injured and on 8 December, he was granted a leave of absence to his home in Dumbarton due "ill-health and the injury".[19] He returned a month later and in the season he made a total of 13 appearances, scoring 7 goals.[20][14]

He returned to Scotland to join Airdrieonians, before joining Clyde on 28 June 1894, playing in Scottish Division One.[21][22] He made 17 appearances and scored 12 times that season, finishing as the league's top goalscorer. On 13 June 1895, Miller joined Derby County.[22] Over his 2 seasons at the club, he made 62 league appearances, scoring 20 goals. He also made 9 appearances in the FA Cup and scored 5 goals.[23] In October 1897, Miller transferred to Bolton Wanderers for a fee of £100.[22][24] He made 8 league appearances and 1 appearance in the FA Cup, but didn't score.[22]

Honours

Dumbarton[25]

Liverpool

Career statistics

Club Season League Cup[a] Other[b] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dumbarton 1890–91 Scottish Football League 1 1 0 0 1[c] 1[c] 2 2
1891–92 20 15 4 3 0 0 24 18
Liverpool 1892–93 Lancashire League 21 22 3 3 7 3 31 28
The Wednesday 1893–94 First Division 13 7 ? ? 0 0 13 7
Clyde 1894–95 Scottish Football League 17 12 2 3 0 0 19 15
Derby County 1895–96 First Division 30 12 5 5 0 0 35 17
1896–97 28 7 4 0 0 0 32 7
1897–98 4 1 0 0 0 0 4 1
Bolton Wanderers 8 0 ? ? 0 0 8 0
Career Total 142 77 18 14 8 4 168 95

Notes

  1. ^ Includes Scottish Cup and FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Lancashire Senior Cup and Liverpool Senior Cup
  3. ^ a b Includes League Play-Off

References

  1. ^ a b John Miller at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b "John Miller - Player Statistics (The Sons Archive - Dumbarton Football Club History)". sonsarchive.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  3. ^ kjehan (5 December 1892). "The heights and weights of the Liverpool players 1892-93". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  4. ^ Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. SoccerData. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
  5. ^ kjehan (11 May 1891). "John Miller transferred to Dumbarton". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  6. ^ "St Mirren 2-4 Dumbarton, Saturday, May 2nd, 1891, (The Dumbarton Archive)". sonsarchive.com. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Dumbarton 2-2 Rangers, Thursday, May 21st, 1891, Boghead Park (The Dumbarton Archive)". sonsarchive.com. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  8. ^ "John Miller - Player Statistics (The Sons Archive - Dumbarton Football Club History)". sonsarchive.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Re: Matchfacts 1891/92". Scottish Referee. SFQAs. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Football. | Scottish League V. Scottish Alliance". The Herald. Glasgow. 31 May 1892. Retrieved 2 July 2021 – via London Hearts Supporters Club.
  11. ^ kjehan (13 June 1892). "John Miller and Andrew Kelvin join Liverpool". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool - Rotherham Town played on Thursday 1 September 1892 - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". lfchistory.net. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool - Bury played on Saturday 24 September 1892 - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". lfchistory.net. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  14. ^ a b c d "Liverpool career stats for John Miller - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". lfchistory.net. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool - Fleetwood Rangers played on Saturday 3 December 1892 - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". lfchistory.net. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  16. ^ kjehan (15 October 1892). "Nantwich v Liverpool 0-4 (FA Cup: October 15, 1892)". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  17. ^ "John Miller". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  18. ^ kjehan (26 June 1893). "John Miller transferred to The Wednesday". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  19. ^ kjehan (8 December 1893). "John Miller on sick leave to Dumbarton". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  20. ^ kjehan (6 January 1894). "The Wednesday centre-forward: John Miller". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  21. ^ Emms, Steve; Wells, Richard (2007). Scottish League Players' Records Division One 1890/91 to 1938/39. Beeston, Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 978-1-899468-66-9.
  22. ^ a b c d kjehan (1 January 1980). "John Miller @ PlayUpLiverpool.com". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  23. ^ "John Miller". 11v11.com. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  24. ^ kjehan (22 November 1897). "John Miller transferred to Bolton Wanderers". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  25. ^ Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
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