Miller George Image 2 Raith Rovers 1924

Description

Edinburgh born inside right George Miller began his football career playing with leading local amateur club Civil Service Strollers and played for Tranent Juniors in 1914, playing three times for Scotland at Junior international level while at Tranent before joining Scottish League club Heart of Midlothian on amateur forms in 1915 while training as a solicitor. He made his Scottish League debut in a match at Falkirk in October 1915. By this time the First World War was in its second year, and the conflict had a huge impact on Hearts when most of their players enlisted en masse and several were later killed in action.

The Scottish League continued to operate during the War, and Miller replaced Harry Wattie (also a product of Tranent, who was one of the players training for the Western Front and who would ultimately perish at The Battle of the Somme). In one of Miller’s first appearances in October 1915, Hearts lost 5-0 at home to Ayr United; however in the very next match they defeated Rangers 4-0 at Ibrox Park with Willie Wilson scoring a hat-trick.

From 1916 Miller served in The 9th Royal Scots Regiment and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He continued to appear for Hearts when home on leave. At the conclusion of the hostilities in 1918 Miller returned to Edinburgh and was in the Hearts side which was a Finalist in the 1919 Victory Cup, when St Mirren who defeated Hearts 3-0 after extra time in the Final at Celtic Park, Glasgow. He also appeared once for Scotland in one of the unofficial Victory Internationals, playing in a 2-1 win over Ireland at Ibrox in March 1919.

Miller continued to play regularly for Hearts until April 1922 when he found the football was conflicting with his legal career, which he did not wish to give up to turn professional. After 36 goals in 141 matches for The Jambos he was then signed by Raith Rovers in the 1922 close season, aged 28, and played for them while continuing to work as a solicitor in Edinburgh. This suited both parties until Raith requested all their players to be based near Kirkcaldy which did not suit Miller’s other work commitments, by when Miller had scored 18 goals in 82 appearances for Rovers.

In January 1925 he was re-signed by Hearts for a fee of £1,200, going on to spend six further seasons at Tynecastle before retiring having played his last match for The Jambos in May 1930, aged 36, by when he had scored 46 goals in 239 appearances for Hearts over his two spells at Tynecastle.