William Preston MILLER

Although Bill Miller beat Cy Young three times in pre-Olympic meets, it was Young who took the gold medal in Helsinki, but with Miller placing second, this was the best showing ever by the U.S. in Olympic javelin competition. Miller, an Arizona State University grad, won the AAU in 1952 and in 1954 a technicality denied him the opportunity of becoming the only native athlete ever to hold the world javelin record. He had a mark of 266-8½ (81.29) but the throw was made with a javelin which had been broken and in repairing the implement the center of gravity had been moved out of the specified limits.

After studying at Arizona State, Miller joined the Marine Corps, and then did graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania. At the NCAA Championships he was 5th in the 1949 javelin throw, and 3rd in 1950. After retiring from track and leaving the Marine Corps, Miller spent a number of years in the Far East as coach to various national teams, including Indonesia and Malaysia. On return to the US, he worked for the U.S. Office of Economic Security in Washington DC, but he then moved to the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Personal Bests: HJ – 6-8 (2.02) (1952); JT – 266-8½ (81.29) (1954).