miller's major league career began in 1884 for the chicago browns/pittsburgh stogies of the union association. he lasted just one start, in which he threw a complete game victory, allowing only two runs. he then moved on to the providence grays, filling in the rotation due to injuries to their top pitchers, charles radbourn and charlie sweeney. even though he did pitch well for long stretches during the games, he struggled to secure the victories in the late innings and had to be replaced. on july 31, 1884, in a road game versus the new york gothams, he was appointed umpire due to the scheduled umpire calling in sick. the new york fans thought his calls were decidedly one-sided toward his grays team, and he had to have a police escort off the field after the game. the game ended in a 3-3 tie.