Sam Mills

Sam Mills was born in Neptune City, New Jersey. While growing up in Long Branch, New Jersey, he loved to tag along with his older brother and play pickup football games with the bigger boys. Mills attended high school at Long Branch High School, where he was a standout football player and wrestler. In 1976 and 1977, Mills won District Championships at Long Branch as a wrestler. Long Branch High School honors him to this day by hanging his high school jersey and his NFL jersey in the school gym. Although considered a great athlete in high school, Mills' 5'9" frame did not interest college scouts.

Mills attended college at Montclair State College (now known as Montclair State University) and made the football squad as a walk-on. Mills played for Montclair State from 1977-1980 where he is the all-time leader in career tackles with 501, tackles in a season (142), and tackles in a game (22). He was a three-time NJAC First Team All-Star and was named the New Jersey Collegiate Writers Defensive Player of the Year for three straight seasons (1978–1980).

Mills signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 1981 but was released after the conclusion of preseason. He wore number 41, the one of the two times he didn't wear number 51, the other being with the Stars. In 1982, Mills signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League but was released before the season.

Fred Hill, who coached Mills at Montclair State, said that many pro scouts loved his tape, but when they heard he was only 5'9", they lost interest. Conventional wisdom at the time held that middle linebackers had to be at least six feet tall to see over opposing offensive linemen and scan the field. Just like after high school, Mills' lack of height held him back. After college, his Pop Warner Football coach Thomas Bevacqui Jr. was able to get Mills invited to the Cleveland Browns training camp after meeting with Browns coach Sam Rutigliano. Bevacqui told Rutigliano that Mills was the best linebacker that he had ever seen play the game. While Rutigliano admired Mills, he didn't think he had the size to play in the NFL and cut him. He then tried out with the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts but did not make the team. Mills found a job teaching photography and assisting the football coach at East Orange (N.J.) High School.

However, Rutigliano still liked what he had seen of Mills in camp. He called an old friend, Carl Peterson, general manager of the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League, and suggested that he give Mills a look. Mills made his reputation at the Stars' first training camp; as Peterson recalled years later, "he just lit it up." He quickly became known as the "Field Mouse" for his devastating speed; as Peterson put it, "he was a mouse running around a field of elephants, but the elephants wanted nothing to do with him."

In his three years with the Stars (who moved to Baltimore in 1985), Mills became one of the anchors of the Stars' feared "Doghouse Defense," During that time (wearing #54), he became known around the league for both his tenacity on the field and his leadership off it. Mills led the Stars to two USFL championships, was named to three All-USFL teams and is a member of the USFL’s All-Time Team. He has been described as arguably the best defensive player (along with Reggie White) in the short history of the league.

After the Stars won the 1985 USFL title, their head coach Jim Mora was signed on to coach the New Orleans Saints, and Mills followed his mentor. During his tenure with the Saints, starting in 1986, Mills was an anchor of the defense. He was a member of the vaunted "Dome Patrol," the stellar linebacking corps that led a ferocious Saints defense in the early 1990s. Mills earned four Pro Bowl appearances with the Saints in 1987, 1988, 1991, and 1992. Mora, who coached 15 seasons in the NFL, called Mills "The best player I ever coached."

Mills became a free agent at the end of the 1994 NFL season. The expansion Carolina Panthers offered him a two-year, $2.8 million deal. While New Orleans matched the offer, Mills was displeased that the Saints did not make an offer until the Panthers forced their hand, and opted to sign with the Panthers.

Mills became a veteran leader for the young team, the only player to start every game during the Panthers' first three seasons. In a 1995 game against the New York Jets, Mills stepped in front of a Bubby Brister shovel pass and took it 36 yards for a touchdown, sealing the Panthers' first win in franchise history. His career rebirth gave him a fifth Pro Bowl appearance in 1996 at the age of 37 which, at the time, made him the oldest defender to be invited to a Pro Bowl. He retired after the following season.