| Wins against Kentucky - 0 | Losses against Kentucky - 2 |
Alma Mater: Centre College (*)
Hometown: Fort Worth, TX
Date Born: January 12, 1895
Date Died: March 31, 1952
| Date | Matchup | UK Result | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2/20/1922 | Centre College at Kentucky | W | 40 - 23 | - |
| 2/4/1922 | Kentucky at Centre College | W | 28 - 21 | - |
Obituary - Louisville Courier-Journal (April 1, 1952)
Beloved 'Bo' McMillin Dies of a Heart Attack
Bloomington, Ind., March 31. - Alvin N. "Bo" McMillin, who coached four college and two professional teams after calling the signals for Centre College's "Prayin' Colonels" 30 years ago, died here today. He was 57.
His 35-yard touchdown run in 1921 for the "Prayin' Colonels" inflicted Harvard's first defeat in six years. He was Walter Camp's All-America quarterback of 1919.
McMillin coached Indiana University to its only Western Conference football championship in 1945 after successful coaching careers at Kansas State, Geneva College of Pennsylvania, and Centenary College of Louisiana. The 1945 team was undefeated.
Cancer Induced Heart Attack
He died of a heart attack induced by cancer of the stomach, which forced his retirement last fall as coach of the professional Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He had given up a lifetime job at Indiana in 1948 for a $30,000 annual salary as coach of the Detroit Lions. A midseason slump ended his connection with the Lions after three seasons.
The funeral will be at 10 a.m., Central Standard Time, Thursday at St. Charles Roman Catholic Church in Bloomington.
Inventor of the "crazy T" and the five-man backfield, McMillin was known in the profession as a brilliant improviser with often inadequate player strength. He was president of the National Football Coaches Association in 1940 and was a member of its rules committee.
Busy After-Dinner Speaker
McMillin was one of the busiest after-dinner speakers in his profession and one of the most quoted.
The compact, white-haired Irishman never lost his drawl from a boyhood in Fort Worth. His annual lament about the sad prospects of "mah pore little boys" was a standard football-season preliminary.
He told banquet audiences "Give me the kind of boy who hunts bears with a switch."
He made Indiana a respected opponent n the Big Ten in his 14 years there. His Hoosier elevens won more conference victories than I.U. had won its previous 34 years in the Big Ten.
McMillin did not swear and plastered his locker rooms with signs such as "You can be Tough as Nail and Still be a Gentleman."
He was voted "Football Man of the Year" for 1945 by the Football Writers Association of America. Fellow coaches polled by the New York World-Telegram named him "Coach of the Year."
His first wife, Marie Miers McMillin, died in 1926, four years after their marriage. They had one daughter, Fleurette Marie, now Mrs. William Benckart, Bedford, Ind. He married the former Kathryn Gallihan, who survives him, while he was coaching at Kansas State. There are four children, Jerre, 19; Jane, 17; Nugent, 15 and Michael, 7.
