Sport has long been a pathway to scholarships for secondary and tertiary education abroad, for many naturally gifted Bahamian athletes. In 1966, one of the most promising names in youth athletics, in the Bahamas, was a young man named Leslie Miller.
Leslie Miller, son of Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Miller from Pinedale, in Nassau, got the opportunity to go to school in Florida in 1965. He attended Attucks High School, and then by 1966 was a high school senior at Palmetto High School in Miami. At Palmetto High, young Miller was excelling at track and field. His best event, by far, was the 440 yard dash.
“In 14 starts at 440 yards dash, Miller had won 12. In 1966 Leslie Miller held the record for that distance at 49.8 seconds. He also held the school’s high jump record at six feet, three inches; and the long jump record at 22 feet, six inches.”
The Nassau Tribune of June 1966 described young Miller as a “handsome and lanky, out powerfully built sprinter has made a name for himself primarily in quarter mile events although he is outstanding as a field competitor.”
(The Nassau Tribune, Monday, 20 June 1966)
LESLIE MILLER RETURNS—AS A CHAMPION FROM COMMONWEALTH GAMES 1966
Miller’s success at the 440 yard dash at high school was replicated at the Commonwealth (Empire) Games of 1966. Young Miller won the event at the Commonwealth Games with a record time of 49.9 seconds. He was hailed as a champion, by the Bahamian press.
(The Nassau Tribune, Monday, 20 June 1966)
COMMONWEALTH GAMES 1966 Held in Kingston, Jamaica
A number of homegrown, talented athletes were chosen to compete, in track and field events, for the Bahamas, in the Commonwealth Games of 1966.
Many would later go on to become notable names in Bahamian society.
(The Nassau Tribune, Friday, 19 July 1966)
Mr. Leslie Miller would go on to become a successful businessman and politician.
Photo courtesy of the Nassau Guardian, July 5, 2014.
The late Honourable Bernard J. Nottage, would later become a successful physician and politician.
Mr. Pat Rahming went on to become a successful architect and musician.
