NFL great Anthony Miller talks collecting, sneaking into Super Bowl, and playing Electric Football

He was a five-time Pro Bowl receiver who had five NFL seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards, including four in a row (1992-95).

Anthony Miller spent 10 seasons in the NFL — with San Diego (1988-93), Dallas (1994-96), and Denver (1997) — catching a combined 595 passes and scoring 66 touchdowns (one rushing and two on kickoff returns), including a career-high 14 for Denver in 1995. He had five 1,000-yard seasons — three for San Diego and two for Denver — and made the Pro Bowl five times.

“If I had stayed with the Chargers, I probably would have been named to more Pro Bowl teams and probably made the Hall of Fame,” Miller said. Still, he added, “I have no complaints. I guess the only complaint is, I never made it [to a] Super Bowl.”

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Well, not as a player. Just as a kid.

“My grandmother worked at the Rose Bowl, so I knew all of the ins and outs” of the fabled stadium in Pasadena, Calif., Miller said. “When the [Los Angeles] Rams faced the Pittsburgh Steelers [in Super Bowl XIV after the 1979 season), I snuck down and saw all the players. That was special.”

Same for Super Bowl XI, after the 1976 season.

“I snuck down into the locker room,” Miller said. “That year, Fred Biletnikoff got the Super Bowl MVP Award. He was one of the last guys at the stadium. He had his son, who was around my age. We were playing around in the locker room. He probably thought I was one of the player’s kids, which I wasn’t; I just snuck down there.”

Years later, when Miller was playing for the Chargers, he met Biletnikoff and asked if the Pro Football Hall of Famer had a son about Miller’s age.

Biletnikoff said, yes. Miller then shared the story of playing with Biletnikoff’s son after the Super Bowl in January 1977.

“That was funny,” Miller said. “Security wasn’t like it is today.”

Also, in 1972, Miller met Anthony Davis at the Rose Bowl when USC was playing Ohio State.

Miller’s NFL career spanned 155 games, and his best season was arguably 1989, when he caught 75 passes for a career-high 1,252 yards, including a 69-yarder and 10 TDs. Also, in ’89, Miller returned a kickoff for a game-winning touchdown against the Raiders.

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Miller had 50 career kickoff returns, with a 25-yard average.

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“Just making it to the pros was a highlight. That’s something I never thought I’d do when I first got to Tennessee,” Miller said. “I took a long route to the NFL: I went from getting a track & field scholarship to San Diego State University, transferred to a junior college, and then landed at Tennessee.

“But I have no complaints.”

Miller transferred from San Diego State to Pasadena City College when the coaches refused to allow him to play football in addition to running track. In 1985, he became the state junior college champion in the 100 and 200 meters. He also caught 47 passes for 881 yards and nine touchdowns, rushed once for 63 yards and a touchdown, and returned 25 kickoffs for 786 yards. His 1,728 all-purpose yards led all California junior college players, and he was named to the junior college All-American team.

He was drafted by the Chargers with the 15th overall pick in 1988.

Wide receivers drafted ahead of Miller in 1988 were Tim Brown (No. 6), Sterling Sharpe (No. 7), and Michael Irvin (No. 11). Aundray Bruce was the No. 1 pick in the 1988 Draft.

Now 57 and living in Southern California, Miller has ties to the card market from 1988, the year he was featured in the Chargers’ Police set. His official rookie card came out in 1989 — from Pro Set, Topps, and Score.

He also has appeared on cards from Action Packed, Asher Candy, Panini, Bowman and Pacific, among others.

Miller was one of the guest autograph signers Feb. 25-26 at the Sportscards, Toys & Collectibles Show at Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall in Las Vegas, which drew about 3,000 attendees.

It was Miller’s first show signing session since 2019, and he said it was “pretty cool.”

“If I wasn’t doing shows, I’d never know about [collectibles] like this,” he said. “I know there are a lot of collectors because there are a lot of people here.”

Miller is not much of a collector, though he does have signed helmets from teammates stored in his man cave. He also has all his game-worn jerseys and helmets, including Pro Bowl memorabilia.

He also has a helmet signed by Michael Irvin, Tim Brown, and Sterling Sharpe.

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“Some of my cards are pretty special to me, though I don’t have a favorite,” he said.

“In the 1970s, I was a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and when we played Electric Football, I always had a Pittsburgh team. I painted them, put on their [uniform] numbers and everything.

“We played [Electric Football] on Saturday and then watched their games on Sunday. Ultimately I got the chance to meet the Pittsburgh greats, such as Lynn

Swann, John Stallworth, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris and “Mean” Joe Greene.”

Miller’s son, Alexander Anthony Miller, is a junior in high school, and the elder Miller is ready to hand down some football advice.

“Making it to the pros requires a little bit of luck, [along with] talent and hard work,” Miller said. “He does the extra stuff that you have to do if you want to be great, make it to that next level. You have to be the first one on the field for practice and the last to leave. You have to be a leader and a strong teammate.

“I tell him all the time that he has a great playbook: me. I continually tell him, ‘You have a five-time Pro Bowl receiver telling you want you need to do.’”