Miracle’ Mike Miley was a multi-sports star, earning All State in three sports at East Jefferson High. He was the top draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds, a franchise on the rise during the era of “The Big Red Machine” led by Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, Pete Rose and Joe Morgan. Miley rejected the MLB offer to attend LSU to play football and baseball.

Limited by rules of the time to the LSU freshman team, Miley emerged for the varsity in 1972 when he returned punts and shared garbage time behind starter Bert Jones.

The following season, Miley took the reigns of the offense and led LSU to a 9-3 mark and a date with Penn State in the ’73 Orange Bowl.

Miley continued to excel on the college diamond, playing in 105 contests hitting .280. As a junior in 1974, he was named first-team All-American. He was once again drafted in the first round, this time taken by the California Angels as a shortstop. He signed for $90,000.

Soon enough, Miley was in the majors. He slugged a home run in his MLB debut on July 6, 1975 and on August 19th hit another to lead the Angels over the Brewers 5-4. Legends like Dick Williams, his manager, and star pitchers Nolan Ryan and Frank Tanana headlined that era’s Angels teams. Miley (6’1-185) was a switch hitter who had 30 RBI and four homers in what was a sadly shortened career.

On January 6, 1977, after a gathering with former teammates at LSU, Miley and his 280-Z sports car ran off a turn on Highland Road in Baton Rouge. He was gone at the age of 23.

Michael Miley