Doc Miller

Roy Oscar Miller

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10½", Weight 170 lb.
• School University of Toronto
• High School Chatham Collegiate Institute
• Debut May 4, 1910
• Final Game September 28, 1914
• Born February 4, 1883 in Chatham, ON CAN
• Died July 31, 1938 in Jersey City, NJ USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Roy "Doc" Miller played five years in the majors, most notably hitting .333 in the 1911 National League, good for second place in the batting championship. He also hit .345 as a back-up in 1913.

Miller was born in Chatham, ON, Canada, and played for a variety of minor league teams before coming to the majors. He was with Binghamton in 1905, a team which also featured Moonlight Graham, another future doctor. With the San Francisco Seals in 1909, he hit a hundred points higher than future-major leaguer Ping Bodie, who was five years younger.

Doc was 27 when he made his major league debut with the 1910 Cubs, a team which would go on to win the 1910 National League pennant. Doc, however, was given only one at-bat by manager Frank Chance and then was traded. It gave him a chance to become a regular, however, and he ended up playing 130 games for the 1910 Boston Doves, a team which lost 100 games.

The next year he led the 1911 National League in hits as he appeared in 146 games, while the Doves lost 107 games. In 1912 he was traded in June for Silent John Titus, a top hitter who was, however, 36 at that point. Titus went on to hit .325 in the rest of the 1912 season for the Doves while Miller hit .288 for the 1912 Phillies.

According to an article from his hometown, his father was a prosperous merchant and Doc attended the local Chatham Collegiate Institute and the University of Toronto. He received a medical degree in 1911. He practiced medicine in New York, NY and was a specialist in skin diseases and cancer. His remains are buried in Chatham.

The Chatham Sports Hall of Fame contains a photo, a baseball card and additional biographical information.

He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on June 20, 2009.

Notable Achievements

• NL Hits Leader (1911)
• NL Singles Leader (1911)

Related Sites

• Doc Miller at the SABR Bio Project