Bob Milie, left, pictured with Jim O’Brien, has been around Pittsburgh sports for most of his 81 years.

Bob Milie: A Man for All Seasons
B by Jim O’Brien
ob Milie remembers meeting Joe
DiMaggio at The Meadows. “He
was a real quiet guy,” says Milie,
“and I did most of the talking.”
Milie is a man who’s always been com-
fortable in conversation. He grew up in
Pittsburgh’s East Liberty section with an
early interest in sports. Legendary boxer
Billy Conn was a community icon, and
Milie followed him everywhere. Milie played
all sports and found a way to make sports
his lifetime occupation.

There is no topic relating to sports that
Milie can’t recall a personal memory of
same. He’s a great storyteller, a classic
raconteur, fun company. He’s got an easy
smile, a good sense of humor and a com-
petitive edge. This has served him well in
recent years, when he’s had to deal with a
number of significant health challenges. He
walks a little slower these days, but there’s
still some of that East Liberty swagger in
his step.

Throughout his 81 years, Milie has been
truly a man for all seasons. There was a
time when he was a phys ed instructor
and assistant football coach at Carnegie
Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University),
an assistant trainer for the Steelers, the
trainer for the men’s basketball team at
Duquesne University, and in the evenings
worked a pari-mutuel ticket window at The
Meadows. There was a time when he was
58 mtl • january/february 2009
both a trainer and the sports information
director at Duquesne. No one else in the
major college ranks could make such a
claim. He assisted Ralph Berlin of Bethel
Park with the Steelers’ training duties and
worked at all of their first four Super Bowl
victories. He had other jobs as well, bartending
at the Oyster House in Market Square, still
owned by Mt. Lebanon’s Lou Grippo, and
elsewhere from time to time. Milie is also
a first-rate photographer and has many
pictures of the Steelers and other sports
figures from past years.

This was a busy man. It enabled Milie
and his wife Maureen to raise four children
in their four-bedroom home in Mt. Lebanon
and to keep a Cadillac in the driveway on
Dixon Avenue, where they’ve lived the last
47 years.

Milie gave up his last job, with Neighbor
Care, six years ago and is now officially
retired. But his love for sports and people
is as keen as ever.

He remains active in the Steelers Alumni
and NFL Alumni groups, often as the sec-
retary. He’s faithful to old friends, often vis-
iting them when they are ill, and too often,
paying his respects at funeral homes.

Milie stays on top of the local sports
scene. So he was excited when he and
Maureen were invited to an anniversary