Miller started his major league career with the Pirates. In his rookie season, he drove in 87 runs and helped Pittsburgh win the National League pennant and their first World Series title. Miller was the regular second baseman from 1909 to 1911 but then moved over to first base.
Miller with St. Louis, circa 1914.
In the years since his death (beginning at least as early as a 1935 story penned by one-time Phillies teammate Stan Baumgartner), Miller's nickname has frequently been attributed to a simple misinterpretation of teammate Honus Wagner's heavily accented response, "That's Miller."[1] However, on May 12, 1909, the first day the name "Dots Miller" appeared in a Pittsburgh newspaper, it was made abundantly clear that this was a childhood nickname, stemming from Miller's own German ancestry, and accent.[2] Indeed, this was confirmed in a story published shortly before his death, during his unsuccessful bout with tuberculosis.[3]
In 1913, Miller was traded to the Cardinals, where he continued his good hitting and fielding for the next few years.
In 1918 Miller's career was interrupted while he served in World War I.[4]
Miller became manager of a Pacific Coast League team, the San Francisco Seals, in 1922. He led the club to the pennant in his first year.[5] The following season, the Seals were league with by ten games when, on July 23, Miller was forced to step down after contracting tuberculosis.[3] He died on September 5.[6]
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