Sports Hall of Fame inductee Peter Miller “had his hands in everything”

October 29, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

While Peter Miller may not be present to accept his induction into the Aurora Sports Hall of Fame (ASHoF) next Wednesday, it’s clear that his legacy in Aurora sports will keep his memory strong.

The ASHoF will posthumously induct Miller, along with five other individuals instrumental to sports in Aurora, at their annual induction dinner.

Miller began his involement with Aurora sports when he enrolled the oldest of the Miller brothers in minor hockey in 1960. Within the next year, he became active as a coach in the system.

He quickly jumped up the ranks, becoming an executive for Aurora Minor Hockey before making the move to President in 1964.

At the same time, Peter became involved with the Aurora Tigers, juggling two presidential positions between the hockey organizations.

It was during this time that the Aurora Memorial Arena burned down, and Peter was appointed to a committee by the mayor to formulate a plan to build a new arena.

Peter’s son, Gerry Miller, said that his father was very much involved in the process of building what is now the Aurora Community Centre.

“He really lobbied the various Councillors at the time to build a formidable arena, kind of unseen in York Region at the time, because it would be a focal point for sports in Aurora,” said Miller.

The success in opening the Community Centre got Peter interested in yet another path – municipal politics. He became a Town Councillor in 1965, in time for the arena’s opening in 1966.

“It kind of gave him the platform to push for more sports facilities,” said Miller. “Once he was on Council, he did all the diamonds, made sure there were lights for the soccer fields, things like that.”

His next venture was creating the Aurora Minor Football Association in 1969, which Miller says his father created “from nothing”.

Although Aurora’s population continued to grow, and more and more land was being used to develop housing, Peter’s focus stayed strong.

“Whenever there was a new development in town, he would really grind the developers to make sure they maximized the parkland. He really pushed for those things.”

He also seemed to be involved in every club in town, from the Lions Club, to the Rotary Club, to the Royal Canadian Legion.

“He had a hand in everything. He was constantly on the move, doing stuff.”

It’s only fitting that Peter be inducted, as without individuals like him such organizations may not exist.

“You know it’s funny, whenever we talk about Sport Aurora, he was the first ‘Sport Aurora’ guy,” says Gerry. “He said ‘let’s promote Aurora as a sports town, all together.’”

To continue their father’s legacy and contributions, the Millers have created the Pete Miller Charitable Foundation. In the last number of years, they have raised over $200,000 for the cancer centre at Southlake Regional Health Centre. They have now kick-started an effort to raise funds for the new residential hospice at Southlake, donating $20,000 in September.

As far as getting inducted into the ASHoF, Miller says that his father was never one to need accolades for his achievements. He also says his dad had quite a hand to help him along the way.

“I think he would be very, very happy with the induction, but you can’t induct my father without inducting my mother into the mother’s hall of fame,” joked Miller.

Miller says his mother, Suzanne, did everything behind the scenes, from moving the chains in football games to keeping boxscores in baseball.
“There’s no way he could have done the things he did without her, and I know they both would be honoured to see this. When you’re a mother of six kids and have a husband with his fingers in everything, you’ve got to be part of the team.”

The sold-out ASHoF Induction Dinner is next Wednesday at the Mansion Events Centre, and is being billed as the “Sports Celebration of the Year”.