GENE MILLER DIES AT AGE 87

HICKORY — An outstanding athlete, coach and administrator in Hickory died on Sunday night at the age of 87, according to the Hickory Daily Record.

B. E. “Gene” Miller was born in Catawba County on Jan. 3, 1924 and starred in football, basketball and baseball at Hickory High and went on to star in those three sports Lenoir-Rhyne College, beginning in 1941 and continuing after he served in World War II.

Following his graduation from Lenoir-Rhyne, Miller taught at Oxford High School and served as basketball coach in 1949 and 1950, leading both teams to conference championships.

He then began teaching at Hickory High School, where he coached the men’s basketball teams to seven conference championships between 1951 and 1959.

Miller served as an elementary school principal for several years, eventually moving to the rank of assistant superintendent of the Hickory City Schools from 1964-67 then served as principal at Hickory High School from 1967-74.

He was inducted into the Lenoir-Rhyne Sports Hall of Fame in 1989 and into the Catawba County Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.