Hall of Fame College Football Player, Coach, Professional Football Coach. Born Alvin Nugent McMillin, he attended North Side High School in Fort Worth, Texas and later Somerset High School (Kentucky). He enrolled at Centre College, a small Presbyterian school located in Danville, Kentucky. While there, he played at the quarterback position. His studies would be interrupted by his service in the United States Navy during World War I. The defining moment of McMillin's collegiate football career was a game in 1921, when he scored the only touchdown in a 6 to 0 upset victory over Harvard. This would be their first defeat in five years. He would go on to achieve All-America honors three-times (first team 1919, second team 1920 and consensus 1921). He played professional football for two seasons (1922 to 1923) at the tailback and blocking back positions in the National Football League with the Milwaukee Badgers and Cleveland Indians. In 1924, he returned to the college ranks where he coached with great success for more than twenty years at Centenary, Geneva, Kansas State and Indiana University. While with the Hoosiers, he led them to their first Big Ten Championship title in 1945 and was named College Football Coach of the Year for that season. In 1948, he reached the professional level as coach of the Detroit Lions (1948 to 1950). In 1951, he replaced Greasy Neale as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and had the difficult task of following the man who guided the team to two consecutive NFL Championship titles in 1948 and 1949. After a 2 and 0 start to the season, McMillin was forced to resign when he revealed he was suffering from stomach cancer. He died the following spring. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 and was posthumously enshrined in the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1982.
Hall of Fame College Football Player, Coach, Professional Football Coach. Born Alvin Nugent McMillin, he attended North Side High School in Fort Worth, Texas and later Somerset High School (Kentucky). He enrolled at Centre College, a small Presbyterian school located in Danville, Kentucky. While there, he played at the quarterback position. His studies would be interrupted by his service in the United States Navy during World War I. The defining moment of McMillin's collegiate football career was a game in 1921, when he scored the only touchdown in a 6 to 0 upset victory over Harvard. This would be their first defeat in five years. He would go on to achieve All-America honors three-times (first team 1919, second team 1920 and consensus 1921). He played professional football for two seasons (1922 to 1923) at the tailback and blocking back positions in the National Football League with the Milwaukee Badgers and Cleveland Indians. In 1924, he returned to the college ranks where he coached with great success for more than twenty years at Centenary, Geneva, Kansas State and Indiana University. While with the Hoosiers, he led them to their first Big Ten Championship title in 1945 and was named College Football Coach of the Year for that season. In 1948, he reached the professional level as coach of the Detroit Lions (1948 to 1950). In 1951, he replaced Greasy Neale as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and had the difficult task of following the man who guided the team to two consecutive NFL Championship titles in 1948 and 1949. After a 2 and 0 start to the season, McMillin was forced to resign when he revealed he was suffering from stomach cancer. He died the following spring. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 and was posthumously enshrined in the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1982.
Bio by: C.S.
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