Johnny Miller
The golfer whose Sunday charges were pure television drama, later becoming the sport's most candid and influential broadcaster.
Born 1947 (age 79)·American former professional golfer·Birthday: April 29·Baby Boomers
Biography
Johnny Miller didn't just win golf tournaments; he authored spectacles. In his prime during the 1970s, he was the game's premier front-runner, capable of blistering final rounds that left fields shattered. His 63 to win the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont remains a standard of major championship dominance. With a pristine, upright swing and lethal iron play, he piled up wins, including a dominant 1974 season with eight victories. Then, as his playing career waned, he invented a second act. As NBC's lead analyst, Miller became the voice of golf for a generation, famous for his 'Johnny-isms' and fearless, often brutally honest, assessments. He called shots 'choke' moments and labeled pressure putts, changing how the game was discussed. His legacy is a dual one: a champion who played with fire and a commentator who spoke with it.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Johnny was born in 1947, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Johnny Was Born
The biggest hits of 1947
#1 Movie
The Egg and I
Best Picture
Gentleman's Agreement
Johnny's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1947Born
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1952Started school
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1960Became a teenager
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Could drive
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1965Could vote
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Turned 21
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1977Turned 30
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 40
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 50
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 60
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 70
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 79 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the 1973 U.S. Open by shooting a historic final-round 63 at Oakmont Country Club.
- Captured 25 PGA Tour victories, including the 1976 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
- Served as the lead golf analyst for NBC Sports for nearly three decades, from 1990 to 2019.
- Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1998.
Did You Know?
He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a two-year mission as a young man.
Miller designed the first golf course in the Soviet Union, later Russia, called the Moscow Country Club.
He once shot a 59 in a competitive round at the 1974 Kaiser International Open, but it was not an official PGA Tour record at the time.
His son, Andy Miller, also played professionally on the PGA Tour.
“Pressure is playing for $10 when you don't have a dime in your pocket.”
