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Bill Millett

1901 – 1966

American sports coach and professor

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About Bill Millett

Lived 1901 – 1966 (aged 65). Bill Millett was an American american football coach, ice hockey coach, baseball manager and professor.

Ellsworth Willis "Bill" Millett (July 8, 1901 – October 19, 1966) was an American baseball, football, and ice hockey player and coach and college professor. He was a fixture at Colby College, in Waterville, Maine, for 25 years, before his retirement in 1948.

Career Millett began attending Colby College in the fall of 1921. He joined the baseball and football teams as a freshman, playing second base and fullback for the Mules. The following year he also joined the ice hockey team as a defenseman and sometime winger. He helped the Mules win or tie the state championship in all three in 1923. Millett graduated in 1925 and returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach two years later. Millett was eventually promoted to being the head coach of the ice hockey team in 1929 and the freshman baseball team the following spring. By the mid-30s he had taken over the freshman football squad and had also been hired on as an assistant professor by the school. During this time Millett had enrolled at Columbia University and earned his master's degree in 1939.

Millett remained with the college during World War II and served as acting athletic director in the absence of Mike Loebs. He was head coach of the football team for one season upon its return to play in 1945. In 1946, he served as interim basketball coach after Eddie Roundy fell seriously ill. The class of 1947 dedicated the school yearbook in his honor. In 1948, Millett was appointed to a fundraising committee for the Mayflower Hill Campus. Due to the requirements for the new project he was forced to turn over coaching duties to others.

Millett remained in Waterville after his retirement and died in 1966. Colby honors his memory by conferring the Bill Millett Award to one male and one female student athlete who have contributed the most to Colby Athletics over their four years at the college.

Personal life and death Millett married Mary Rollins in 1932 and they had two daughters; Mary, born in 1933 and Martha, born in 1937. Millett died on October 20, 1966, at Thayer Hospital in Waterville.

Head coaching record College football

Ice hockey

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
Colby College, Columbia University
Employers
Old Waterville High School, Colby College

People in Bill Millett's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Bill Millett's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Bill Millett?

American sports coach and professor (1901–1966)

When was Bill Millett born?

Bill Millett was born on 8 July 1901 in Whitman.

When did Bill Millett die?

Bill Millett died on 19 October 1966 in Waterville.

What was Bill Millett's occupation?

Bill Millett was an american football coach, ice hockey coach, baseball manager and professor.

What nationality was Bill Millett?

Bill Millett was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Bill Millett

· Wikidata: Q120637732

· DBpedia: Bill Millett

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Bill Millett. https://biography.guide/bill-millett/

MLA: "Bill Millett." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/bill-millett/.

Chicago: "Bill Millett." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/bill-millett/.

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