CLAUDE O. MILLER, 76, of Proctorville, widower of Harriet V. Miller, died
Wednesday Jan. 23, 2002 in St. Mary’s Hospital. He was a retired educator
and coach. Survivors include a niece, Sarah Owens. Funeral 11 a.m. Saturday
at Hall Funeral Home; Proctorville; burial in Highland Memorial Gardens,
South Point. Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home. 

Coaches mourn Miller’s death

By TIM STEPHENS - The Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON -- Former Marshall football standout and Huntington High
School football coach Claude Miller died Wednesday night in St. Mary’s
Hospital.

Miller’s funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Hall Funeral Home in Proctorville,
Ohio. Burial will be at Highland Memorial Park in South Point, Ohio. Friends
may call the funeral home from 6-8 p.m. Friday.

Miller, 76, was born Sept. 25 in Boone County, W.Va., and graduated from
Scott High School in 1944. Miller, a U.S. Army veteran, captained Marshall’s
1948 football team and started all but two games in four seasons. Miller was
inducted into the MU Hall of Fame in 1997.

Miller coached at several area high schools, including 27 years at Huntington
High. Miller also coached at Marlington, Matewan, South Point and Boyd
County high schools. He also worked with the Huntington Cubs minor league
baseball team in the early 1990s and was a longtime area high school basketball
official.

"He was a great fellow," said Jim Thornburg, who coached against Miller while
at Barboursville. "I remember when I was coaching at Buffalo and Claude came
out to our junior varsity games. I asked him what he was doing there and he
said he just wanted to watch a game where nobody would bother him." Thornburg
said Miller will be missed. "He was always a gentleman," Thornburg said. "You
coach against guys and get to know them. He was a good one."

Former Ceredo-Kenova football coach Carl Ward was sorry to hear of Miller's
passing. "He helped me get started," Ward said. "If I’d ask him for information,
he’d give me what he had. He was a good player at Marshall, a good basketball
official. I thought he did an outstanding job at Huntington. He was a great
coach and a great person." Ward credited Miller for convincing him to use a
rubber football during games. "We used it and it helped us from fumbling in
wet games," Ward said. "I don’t think we ever lost a game in the mud or the
rain and that was a big part of it."

Miller was voted the most valuable lineman on Marshall’s 1949 team. He played
right guard on offense and middle guard on defense for coach Cam Henderson.