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]
^Emms, Steve; Wells, Richard (2007). Scottish League Players' Records Division One 1890/91 to 1938/39. Beeston, Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN978-1-899468-66-9.