Wayne Vernal Millner (January 31, 1913 – November 19, 1976) was an American 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 ...

player who was an offensive and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the Boston / Washington Redskins of 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). 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

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

Early life

Millner grew up in

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for ne ...

, and was Jewish. He played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Salem High School, where he earned All-State honors in football during each of his four seasons of play. Millner later played for three prep schools, including Malvern Preparatory School, until Notre Dame recruited him in 1933.

College career

Millner attended and played

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

from 1933 through 1935. While at Notre Dame, Millner was involved in many notable plays. In 1933, Notre Dame was playing unbeaten

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and trailed 12–6 with one minute to play. Then Millner blocked an Army punt and recovered it for a touchdown and Notre Dame won 13–12. In 1935, both Notre Dame and

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

were unbeaten. Notre Dame trailed 13–0, but then scored two late touchdowns. Millner then caught a touchdown pass from Bill Shakespeare in the closing seconds to beat Ohio State, 18–13 and stayed undefeated.

Professional career

Millner was drafted in the eighth round of the 1936 NFL draft by the

Boston Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football franchise based in the Washington metropolitan area. They are members of the NFC East, East division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). ...

, with head coach Ray Flaherty seeing him as a major component to winning a league championship. After losing to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in the title game that year, the franchise moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

and defeated the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

28–21 to win the title. Millner played a big role in the victory, catching

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

passes of 55 and 78 yards from

Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football quarterback who played 16 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the TCU Horne ...

. Millner entered the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during World War II and after three years away, returned to the Redskins for one final season in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

before retiring. During his seven seasons, he caught 124 passes for 1,578 yards, a 12.7 average, and 12 touchdowns.

Pro Football Hall of Fame

In 1968, Millner was enshrined in the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

, becoming only the third Notre Dame player (to that point) to earn the honor. A touching moment took place during the induction ceremonies, when the large crowd there to cheer for former teammate Cliff Battles, also chose to give Millner a huge ovation. Millner had only been accompanied by his wife, Sara.

Coaching career

While playing for the Redskins, Millner was an assistant coach with

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily ...

's Cardinals, and went with them to the 1940 Sun Bowl."Bergman in the Dark on Best Preparation for Sun Bowl," ''Washington Post,'' Dec. 13, 1939, p. 25. After having served as a player-coach in 1945, Millner became a full-time assistant for the team the following year, spending three seasons in that role. In 1949, he moved to the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

as a Chicago Hornets assistant, then spent the next year in the same role with the original

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

. In 1951, he was hired as an assistant with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

under

Bo McMillin Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin (January 12, 1895 – March 31, 1952) was an American football player and coach at the collegiate and professional level. He played college football at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he was a three-t ...

, but when McMillin was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, Millner was elevated to interim head coach. He resigned prior to the start of the 1952 NFL season, citing health problems. However, just 17 days after his decision, he accepted an assistant coaching position with the Redskins. Millner stayed as an assistant until 1957, when he accepted an assistant coaching position at Hardin–Simmons University, working under his old cohort, Baugh. After just one season, Millner resigned the post and worked as a car salesman until returning to the Redskins as a scout in 1963, the same year he suffered his first

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. Millner returned to coaching one final time when he served one year as an assistant with the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

's Florida Blazers under former Redskin

Jack Pardee John Perry Pardee (April 19, 1936 – April 1, 2013) was an American professional football player and head coach. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). As a coach, he is the only head coach to helm a team in college ...

in 1974. Originally, the team was scheduled to begin play as the Virginia Ambassadors before financial considerations forced the move.

Death

Millner died of a

in 1976. The entire Redskins organization attended his funeral.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Millner, Wayne 1913 births 1976 deaths All-American college football players American football ends United States Navy personnel of World War II Boston Redskins players Catholic University Cardinals football coaches Chicago Rockets coaches College Football Hall of Fame inductees Florida Blazers coaches Jewish American players of American football Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Philadelphia Eagles coaches Players of American football from Boston Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Washington Redskins players Salem High School (Massachusetts) alumni 20th-century American Jews Philadelphia Eagles head coaches Jewish American coaches of American football Jews from Massachusetts Hardin–Simmons University people