James Gordon Miller (born July 5, 1957) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

punter in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

, earning consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 1979.

Early life

Miller was born in

Ripley, Mississippi Ripley is a city in Tippah County, Mississippi, Tippah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,395 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Tippah County, Mississippi, Tippah County. Colonel William Clark Falkner, great-grand ...

and attended Ripley High School, where he played

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

and punter.

College career

Miller accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

, where he played for the

from 1976 to 1979. He started punting barefoot as a freshman (in high school he had to wear a shoe by rule), ranking third in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

with a 40.5-yard punt average. For a while he doubled as a flanker and punter. As a sophomore, he led the NCAA with a 45.9-yard punting average, which was also a school and SEC record. As a junior, he finished with a 43.2-yard per punt average. As a senior, he averaged 44.6-yards per punt. Miller set multiple school records with an 82-yard punt against

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, punt average in a single-season (45.9), most punts in a game (12), career punt average (43.4-yard), punts in a career (266), punting yards in a single-season (3,283 yards) and total punt yards in a career (11,549). In 1995, he was inducted into the Ole Miss Athletics Hall of Fame. He was named to the Ole Miss Team of the Century (1893-1992). In 2018, he was named an SEC legend.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Miller was selected in the third round (65th overall) of the

1980 NFL draft The 1980 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1980, at the New York Sh ...

by the

, which had gone through three punters in three years. As a rookie, he was named to the All-rookie team after averaging 40.9 yards per punt. He was a part of the

Super Bowl XVI Super Bowl XVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

championship team. On August 29, 1983, he was waived before the start of the season, to make room for the signing of punter Tom Orosz. At the time, he ranked as the franchise's fourth all-time punter.

Dallas Cowboys

On November 18, 1983, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

to replace the injured rookie

John Warren John Warren may refer to: Entertainment * John F. Warren (1909–2000), American cinematographer * John Warren (actor) (1916–1977), British screenwriter and actor * John Warren (musician) (born 1938), Canadian baritone saxophonist and compose ...

. He only played in three games, while splitting the punting duties with

Danny White Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback and punter for 13 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was the third major franchise qu ...

, with Miller handling the punts inside the 50-yard line. He was released after losing the preseason competition with Warren on September 6, 1984.

New York Giants

On October 14, 1987, he was signed during the NFL Strike. He punted in the fifth game against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, replacing an injured

Sean Landeta Sean Edward Landeta (born January 6, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a punter in both the United States Football League (USFL) and the National Football League (NFL). Landeta played 22 seasons in the NFL for ...

, making 10 punts for a 34.5-yard average. He was cut on October 19.

Personal life

Miller lives in Ripley, Mississippi with his wife. He worked as a football coach, teacher assistant and bus driver at Ripley Middle School.

References

External links

October 16, 1978 Sports Illustrated: Ah! Those Punts Hit The Spot
- Sports Illustrated feature on Jim Miller

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Jim 1957 births Living people American football punters Dallas Cowboys players New York Giants players Ole Miss Rebels football players San Francisco 49ers players All-American college football players People from Ripley, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi