‘One of a kind’: AIM Media Texas mourns loss of sports editor Henry Miller

Henry Miller, sports editor for AIM Media Texas and RGVSports.com, died this week. He was 58.

Through his 37-year career, he produced hundreds of stories, including pieces on the 2003 blackout of the Northeast, Dale Earnhardt’s death, and the murder of Michael Jordan’s dad. In the six years he led athletic coverage locally, he became a champion for Rio Grande Valley athletes, promoting the achievements of players and coaches in sports and life.

“We’re going to feel the loss of Henry across the organization, not just the newsroom,” said Stephan Wingert, publisher and vice president of AIM Media Texas. “It’s touching to see the kind of effect he had on the community. The vast condolences really speak to the impact he had.”

Wingert added, “Although Henry’s known for his passion for high school sports, he held several roles with us and he’s been a fixture in our newsroom for many years. He was a huge fan of our local sports teams, and he was always excited when any of our teams made it to regional or state. That was his beat and he loved it. He really knew them and was proud to share their stories.”

He is survived by one daughter, Camilla Miller.

Miller was especially instrumental in revitalizing varsity volleyball coverage in the Valley. In fact, under his leadership Miller expanded coverage for much more than volleyball but also dedicated resources and column inches to cross country, track and field, powerlifting and wrestling, to name a few.

“He put volleyball on the map for Valley girls,” said Monitor photographer Delcia Lopez. “We lost an amazing sports writer and reporter. Henry will be missed by the sports community. He treated everyone fairly. He had a knack for figuring out who these players were when they were freshmen and sophomores … (and say) ‘these girls are going to be amazing when they’re seniors.’”

Miller made sure these competitors routinely shared equal space with football, basketball and baseball on the covers of RGVSports.com’s sports pages, both in the daily newspapers as well as on the website.

Henry Miller

Such was his passion to feature all sports that Miller worked to include powerlifting and wrestling into the All-Valley Sports Awards, which is where student-athletes are honored for their competitiveness and performance at an annual banquet.

As sports editor, Miller also had the challenging task of consolidating three sports departments at The Monitor, Valley Morning Star and The Brownsville Herald into a single entity, RGVSports.com, and maintaining a breadth of coverage that included more than 40 high school athletics programs, the RGV Vipers, UTRGV sports — and now, UTRGV football.

“Henry was one of a kind, truly,” said Willis Glassgow, professional photographer from Florence, South Carolina, and a former co-worker and roommate. “He was thoughtful, generous, brilliant and a truly loving father. The world won’t see another Henry.”

A native of New York, Miller earned a communications degree in 1988 from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, and was a sports writer for nearby Steubenville Herald Star and Weirton Daily Times after graduation.

In 1992, he relocated to Florence, South Carolina, where he covered NASCAR and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta as sports editor for Morning News and Thomson Newspapers. Simultaneously, he became a syndicated writer and radio analyst regarding racing — primarily NASCAR, but also IndyCar, Open Wheel and Formula 1.

In Florence, he worked under editor Steve Fagan for three years. When Fagan was tapped to lead as editor of The Monitor in August 2001, he brought Miller onboard in a leadership role in McAllen. Miller spent nearly 10 years building up the young newsroom, eventually becoming managing editor.

He earned an MBA from the University of Texas-Pan American (now UTRGV) in 2007.

Miller stepped away in the early 2010s, becoming self-employed, before returning to The Monitor in 2019. His products included South Texas Golf Magazine and Texas Sportsman Tracking Outdoors Magazine.

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