On July 30, 1960, Van Miller debuted on the air at War Memorial Stadium to call play-by-play for the Bills' inaugural contest against the Boston Patriots. Besides his status as the "Voice of the Bills," Miller was the sports director for WBEN-TV/WIVB-TV for many years. During that time, he served as a sportscaster, weather reporter, and as host of the local version of It's Academic and Beat the Champ, among other shows. Miller also hosted a popular afternoon program for many years on WBEN radio. Miller called Buffalo Braves and Niagara University basketball, Buffalo Bisons baseball, Buffalo Stallions soccer, University at Buffalo football and, in his early years, high school sports. Miller continued play-by-play for college basketball well into the 1990s for Empire Sports Network, giving the upstart network credibility in its formative years. With the exception of a seven-season hiatus from 1972 through 1978, when the Bills were being carried on rival station WKBW-AM, Miller covered the Bills for most of the team's existence. This period included the AFL championship in 1964 and 1965, and the Super Bowl run of the early 1990s. Miller shared the booth with color men Stan Barron, Jefferson Kaye and John Murphy. In 2004, Miller retired and Murphy succeeded him as the Bills' play-by-play voice. Of all of his commentary duties, Miller considered the Bills position his favorite; he took personal regret when WKBW picked up Bills rights in 1972, felt serious discomfort having to wish successor Al Meltzer luck, expressed great pleasure when WBEN had reacquired rights to the Bills' broadcasts. After 43 years, Miller called his final broadcast for the Bills as they lost 31-0 to the New England Patriots in the last game of the 2003 regular season.
Life after retirement and death
Miller retired with Gloria Miller, whom he had married in 1953, in the town of Tonawanda, New York. During retirement, Miller did guest sports commentary appearances and voiced commercials for some Western New York retail businesses. The Pro Football Hall of Fame presented him with its Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 2004. He is an inductee in the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame, , and the . Miller was an avid tennis player and often paired with Jack Ramsay in doubles matches. Signature calls include: "Fandemonium" - often referring to the celebrations after big Bills wins, and "Do you believe it?" after an exciting and often game-changing play. Miller also had a custom-made routine he used when being interviewed on radio shows, in which he called a fictional game in which the host of the show carries the ball just short of the end zone only to fumble on the goal line, after which Miller mocked anguish. Miller was inducted onto the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame on October 19, 2014. He died July 17, 2015 at the age of 87, from complications due to a stroke. Miller suffered various complications due to old age in his last years. Most of his estate was auctioned off in February 2017, including a large collection of football memorabilia ; he also owned a Maserati.
