Johnny Miljus

Infobox MLB retired
name=Johnny Miljus
position=Pitcher


bgcolor1=black
bgcolor2=black
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=June 30, 1895
deathdate=death date and age|1976|2|11|1895|6|30
debutdate= October 2
debutyear= 1915
debutteam= Pittsburgh Rebels
finaldate=September 25
finalyear=1929
finalteam= Cleveland Indians
stat1label=Pitching record
stat1value=29-26
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=3.92
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=166
teams=
* Pittsburgh Rebels (1915)
* Brooklyn Robins (1917, 1920-1921)
* Pittsburgh Pirates (1927-1928)
* Cleveland Indians (1928-1929)
highlights=
* 1927 National League Pennant

John Kenneth (Johnny) Miljus (Serbian Cyrillic Џон Кенет Миљуш or Serbian Latin "Džon Kenet Miljuš") (June 30, 1895 - February 11, 1976) nicknamed Big Serb and Jovo, was Serbian-American baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball between by|1915 and by|1929. Miljus batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Miljus served in the United States Army during World War I, in France, as part of the 320th Infantry. His wartime bunkmate was Joe Harris. Ironically, the two of them would later be reunited as members of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Miljus was wounded in action and was to be sent home. Instead of heading home, he chose to rejoin his unit after leaving the hospital.

After toiling in the minors, this lanky 6'1" 178 pounder spent six seasons in the major leagues as a pitcher. Miljus reached the majors in 1915 with the Pittsburgh Rebels of the outlaw Federal League, spending one year with them before moving to the Brooklyn Robins (NL, 1920-21), Pittsburgh Pirates (NL, 1927-28) and Cleveland Indians (AL, 1929). More than a dependable pitcher, he filled several roles coming out from the bullpen as a closer or a middle reliever, and as an occasional starter as well. Unfortunately, Miljus is probably best remembered as the pitcher who served a ninth-inning wild pitch that escaped Pirates' catcher Johnny Gooch and allowed the New York Yankees to sweep the 1927 World Series. In Game Four, after striking out Lou Gehrig and Bob Meusel, and with two strikes on Tony Lazzeri, the next Miljus' pitch rolled far enough away for Earle Combs to score the winning run. In a seven-season career, Miljus posted a 29-26 record with 166 strikeouts and a 3.92 ERA in 457 ⅓ innings pitched, including 45 starts, 15 complete games, two shutouts, and five saves. Miljus died in Fort Harrison, Montana, at the age of 80.

As of by|2006, Miljus has one of the lowest ERA (3.92) of any major league pitcher coming out of University of Pittsburgh with more than 100 innings, behind Bob Malloy (3.26), Doc Medich (3.77) and Steve Swetonic (3.81).

External links

* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/chronology/1927OCTOBER.stm#day8 Baseball Chronology]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/miljujo01.shtml Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.serbworldusa.com/MILJUS.html Miljus' biography at serbworldusa.com]