Charles William Miller

Influence

Returning to Brazil in 1894, Miller brought two footballs and a set of Hampshire FA rules. He helped establish the football team of São Paulo Athletic Club (SPAC) and the Liga Paulista, Brazil's first football league. Playing as striker, SPAC won the first three championships in 1902, 1903 and 1904.

By 1906 he was in goal during SPAC's 9–1 defeat to Sport Club Internacional of São Paulo; after this result SPAC resigned from the league and Miller left its directorate. SPAC returned in 1907 and won the 1911 title before withdrawing from official competitions in 1912. Miller suggested the name to the first president of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista.

Personal life

Charles William Miller spent his career with the São Paulo Railway Company, and by 1904 he was both an agent for the Royal Mail and the Acting British Vice-Consul. He made a substantial profit by investing in São Paulo’s garden suburbs, which were designed by Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin. In January 1906, he married the celebrated pianist Antonietta Rudge. The couple had two children, Carlos, born in 1907, and Helena, born in 1909.

Their marriage ended in the late 1920s, after which Antonietta lived with the poet Menotti Del Picchia. During what was likely his final trip to England in 1939, Miller narrowly escaped the first IRA bombing on British soil. His daughter paused to look in a shop window just seconds before the bomb exploded on the steps of a nearby underground station. In his later years, he remained active in cricket and golf.

Miller died on 30 June 1953 in São Paulo and was buried in the city’s Protestant cemetery. The square at the main entrance of the historic Paulo Machado de Carvalho Stadium, also known as Pacaembu, is named Praça Charles Miller in his honor.

Did You Know?

• Miller was recorded in the 1891 United Kingdom census as a boarder at Millbrook School.
• He played for and against both Corinthians and St. Mary's (now Southampton FC) while at school in England.