Ring name(s) William Miller Name William Miller Role Australian athlete | Height 1.78 m Debut 1871 Retired 1890 | |
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Died March 11, 1939, Balti, Maryland, United States | ||
Billed weight 191–196 lb (87–89 kg) Billed height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
William Miller (16 December 1846 – 11 March 1939), also known as Professor William Miller, was an Australian athlete, the only athlete to hold Australian championships for boxing, fencing, wrestling and weight-lifting.
Miller was born in Liscard, Cheshire, England, the son of Alexander Miller, a wine and spirits merchant, and his wife Sarah Anne, née Hatton (W. Miller was partly of French heritage). At age 5, William Miller arrived in Victoria, Australia with his family. From 1862 to 1869, Miller worked for the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company as station-master and telegraph instructor.
Miller became proprietor of the Melbourne Gymnasium, and instructor to some the leading Melbourne schools. Miller won the Australian broadsword championship in 1872. In the U.S.A. from 1874 to 1880 he defeated cosmopolitan champions in boxing and wrestling, out of 72 matches, he had 55 wins and 11 draws. In 1879 he defeated Duncan Ross walking over 102 miles (164 km) in 24 hours and drew with the champion weight-lifter Richard Pennell, both lifting 1550 lbs. (703 kg) of iron.
In 1895 Miller published Health, Exercise and Amusement in Melbourne. In 1903 Miller returned to the U.S.A. and became manager of the San Francisco Athletic Club and later athletic instructor with the New York police.
Miller invited the famous wrestler Clarence Whistler to tour in Australia, Whistler defeated Miller in September 1885. During the tour, Whistler died, there has been various explanations for his death. Miller was a pallbearer at Whistler's funeral.
Miller lived in Baltimore from 1917 and died there on 11 March 1939. After his death, The Baltimore Sun described him as 'one of the greatest all-round athletes in the world'.