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Robert John Miller
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher
Born: June 16, 1926, Detroit, MI
Signed: Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams: Philadelphia Phillies 1949-58
Died: November 27, 2020, Waterford, MI (age 94)
Bob Miller spent his entire career with the Phillies and was a key member of the 1950 National League Champion Whiz Kids. Miller was a September call-up in 1949, and made the club's opening day roster in 1950. As a swingman for the eventual pennant-winners, Miller was 11-6 with a 3.47 ERA in 35 games overall, including 21 starts. He threw seven complete games, a pair of shutouts and saved a game for good measure. Robin Roberts (#180) and Curt Simmons (#290) earned most of the accolades for the Phillies' solid pitching that season, but Miller was third on the team in wins and innings pitched with 174. He'd slump over the next few seasons, spending parts of 1951 and 1952 back in the minor leagues. In 1955, now a full-time reliever, Miller enjoyed perhaps his best season, going 8-4 with a 2.41 ERA in 89 2/3 innings pitched. He'd retire as a player after trying to make a comeback in the Dodgers' organization in 1959.
In 261 career games, all with the Phillies, Miller was 42-42 with a 3.96 ERA in 822 innings pitched. Miller went on to serve as the head baseball coach at his alma mater, the University of Detroit Mercy, for 36 years between 1965 and 2000. His lengthy and successful stint as the Titans' head coach led him to be inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.
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| December 26, 2003 - Dad opening presents |
December 25, 2003 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards) - Card #252
My Dad/Santa brought me nine cards for our set for Christmas in 2003, with all but one of the cards coming from his dealer of choice, Kit Young Cards in San Diego. The Brooklyn Dodgers team card (#166) was the lone non-Kit Young Cards addition, as that card came from TemDee in Turnersville, New Jersey. It was a strange mix of commons from Kit Young Cards, with no semi-star or star card to balance out the lot. We were admittedly in a lull collecting the set, with only 18 cards added during all of 2003 and only six cards added, as Christmas presents, in 2004.
Pictures from the Christmas of 2003 show us opening gifts at my Mom's house on December 26th, which has since become a tradition for us. So while the official set records indicate these nine cards were added on December 25th, it was most likely a day later I opened the cards while in Millville.
The Card / Phillies Team Set
This is the second Bob Miller card in the set, not to be confused with the card for Tigers' pitcher Bob Miller (#263). Topps repeats the photo used for Miller's 1955 card here. The cartoons on the back highlight his effective sinker ball, his role on the 1950 Whiz Kids team and his career-best 2.41 ERA in 1955.
1956 Season
Phillies Career
Miller's hot start to his rookie season in 1950 helped bolster a starting pitching rotation already strong at the top with Roberts and Simmons. Through the first three months of the season, Miller was 6-0 with a 1.63 ERA in 16 games pitched. He'd start Game 4 of the 1950 World Series, but wouldn't make it out of the first inning after giving up a pair of runs on an RBI-single by Yogi Berra (#110) and an RBI-double by Joe DiMaggio. Miller wore #19 for all but his first three games with the Phillies.
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First Mainstream Card: 1950 Bowman #227
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6): 1952, 1955-59
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2011 Topps Lineage Autographs #RA-BMI
21 - Miller non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/23/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Previous Card / Next Card
Order Collected: #333 Rube Walker - Brooklyn Dodgers / #12 Andy Carey - New York Yankees
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