Tom McMillen

For other people with similar names, see Thomas McMillen (disambiguation).

Charles Thomas McMillen (born May 26, 1952) is an American politician, businessman, and former professional basketball player. A Rhodes Scholar, McMillen represented Maryland's 4th congressional district from January 3, 1987, to January 3, 1993.

Tom McMillen
Co-Chair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
In office 1993–1997 Serving with Florence Griffith Joyner[1]
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Arnold Schwarzenegger (as Chairman)
Succeeded by	Lee Haney (as Chair)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 4th district
In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Marjorie Holt
Succeeded by	Al Wynn
Personal details
Born	Charles Thomas McMillen (1952-05-26) May 26, 1952 (age 73) Elmira, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Residence(s)	Crofton, Maryland, U.S.
Education	University of Maryland (BS) University of Oxford
Basketball career
Personal information
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school	Mansfield (Mansfield, Pennsylvania)
College	Maryland (1971–1974)
NBA draft	1974: 1st round, 9th overall pick
Drafted by	Buffalo Braves
Playing career	1974–1986
Position	Power forward / center
Number	52, 54
Career history
1974–1975	Virtus Bologna
1975–1976	Buffalo Braves
1976–1977	New York Knicks
1977–1983	Atlanta Hawks
1983–1986	Washington Bullets
Career highlights
Consensus second-team All-American (1973) Second-team All-American – NABC, UPI (1974) 2× Third-team All-American – AP (1972, 1974) Third-team All-American – UPI (1972) 2× First-team All-ACC (1972, 1973) Second-team All-ACC (1974) Mr. Basketball USA (1970) First-team Parade All-American (1970)
Career NBA statistics
Points	5,914 (8.1 ppg)
Rebounds	2,913 (4.0 rpg)
Assists	788 (1.1 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
Medals Men's basketball Representing  United States Olympic Games 1972 Munich Team

On March 22, 2011, he was appointed as chairman of the inaugural Board of Directors of the President's Foundation on Sports, Physical Fitness, and Nutrition. He is also the author of Out of Bounds,^[2] a critical look at the unhealthy influence of sports on ethics, and he served on the Knight Foundation's Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics investigating abuses within college sports.^[3]

Career

Basketball

McMillen playing for Virtus in Italy, 1975

Prior to entering politics, McMillen was a star basketball player on all levels. In 1970, he was the number one high school basketball player in the U.S. coming out of Mansfield, Pennsylvania, and was the biggest recruiting catch early in Coach Lefty Driesell's career at the University of Maryland, beating out rival Coaches Dean Smith of the University of North Carolina and John Wooden of UCLA for McMillen's services. McMillen played for the Terrapins from 1971 to 1974,^[4] McMillen was also a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic Basketball Team that lost a controversial gold medal game to the Soviet Union.

McMillen earned his B.S. from University of Maryland in chemistry, which is part of the University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences.^[5] After graduating from Maryland in 1974,^[6] McMillen was drafted with the ninth pick in the first round of the 1974 NBA draft by the Buffalo Braves and the first round of the 1974 ABA Draft by the Virginia Squires.^[7] McMillen signed with the Braves but postponed his entry into the NBA in order to attend the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. During his time at Oxford, McMillen was a member of the Oxford University basketball team. He also commuted to Bologna, to play for Italian club Virtus Bologna.^[8] During his eleven-year National Basketball Association career, he played for the Braves, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, and Washington Bullets, before he retired in 1986 to pursue his political career.

U.S. House

He was elected to the U.S. Congress as a Democrat to represent Maryland's 4th district, and served 1987–1993 as that district's representative.^[9]

In 1992, the 4th was redrawn as a black-majority district due to a mandate from the Justice Department. His home in Crofton was drawn into the Eastern Shore-based 1st District, represented by first-term Republican Congressman Wayne Gilchrest. Although McMillen did very well in the more urbanized areas of the district near Baltimore and Washington, D.C., it was not enough to overcome Gilchrest's margin on the Eastern Shore, and McMillen lost his reelection bid.

McMillen is thought to be the tallest-ever member of Congress.^[10] At 6 feet 11 inches, he is two feet taller than Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, who is believed to be the shortest representative ever.^[11]

Later career

McMillen shakes hands with Maryland Governor Wes Moore, 2024

McMillen was appointed to the University System of Maryland's Board of Regents in 2007, where he served until June 30, 2015. He was replaced by Robert R. Neall whom McMillen had defeated for Congress in 1986.^[12] In March 2023, McMillen was again appointed to the Boards of Regents, succeeding Gary L. Attman.^[13]

In September 2015, McMillen was selected to lead the Division I-A Athletic Directors’ Association as it moved from Dallas to Washington, D.C.^[3] He remains President and Chief Executive Officer of the renamed Lead1 Association, now advocating for athletic directors at Football Bowl Subdivision universities.^[14][15]

Personal life

McMillen is married to Dr. Judith Niemyer.^[16] The couple have lived in Fauquier County, Virginia since 2010.^[17]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high
*	Led the league

NBA

Source^[18]

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1975–76	Buffalo	50		14.2	.432		.759	3.7	1.4	.1	.1	4.7
1976–77	Buffalo	20		13.5	.489		.722	3.6	.8	.1	.1	5.8
1976–77	New York	56	22	21.8	.486		.805	5.7	.9	.2	.1	9.4
1977–78	Atlanta	68		24.8	.493		.800	6.1	1.2	.5	.2	9.9
1978–79	Atlanta	82*		17.0	.466		.891	4.0	.8	.2	.4	7.0
1979–80	Atlanta	53		20.2	.500	.000	.757	4.2	1.2	.7	.3	8.7
1980–81	Atlanta	79		19.8	.487	.167	.741	3.7	.9	.3	.3	7.4
1981–82	Atlanta	73	23	24.5	.509	.333	.824	4.6	1.8	.3	.3	9.9
1982–83	Atlanta	61	4	22.4	.467	.000	.812	3.6	1.2	.3	.4	8.3
1983–84	Washington	62	5	20.9	.497	.167	.814	3.2	1.2	.2	.3	9.2
1984–85	Washington	69	21	22.4	.472	.000	.830	3.0	.8	.1	.2	8.9
1985–86	Washington	56	1	15.4	.460	.000	.810	2.0	.6	.2	.2	5.8
Career		729	76	20.3	.483	.120	.806	4.0	1.1	.3	.3	8.1

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1976	Buffalo	1		3.0	.500		–	1.0	.0	.0	.0	2.0
1978	Atlanta	2		37.5	.565		–	11.0	.5	.5	.0	13.0
1979	Atlanta	9		18.1	.435		.842	3.8	.8	.2	.1	6.2
1982	Atlanta	2		23.5	.615	–	.667	3.5	.5	1.5	.0	10.0
1983	Atlanta	3		13.0	.333	–	1.000	2.3	.7	.3	.7	3.3
1984	Washington	4		10.5	.250	–	.500	.5	.8	.0	.0	2.3
1985	Washington	1	0	7.0	.000	.000	–	5.0	1.0	.0	.0	.0
1986	Washington	4	0	13.5	.500	–	–	1.3	1.8	.8	.0	4.0
Career		26	0	16.5	.439	.000	.793	3.2	.8	.4	.1	5.3

Electoral history

Year	Office		Subject	Party	Votes	Pct		Opponent	Party	Votes	Pct
1986[19]	Congress, District 4		Tom McMillen	Democrat	65,071	50.16		Robert R. Neall	Republican	64,643	49.84
1988[20]	Congress, District 4		Tom McMillen	Democrat	128,624	68.30		Bradlyn McClanahan	Republican	59,688	31.70
1990[21]	Congress, District 4		Tom McMillen	Democrat	85,601	58.85		Robert P. Duckworth	Republican	59,846	41.15
1992[22]	Congress, District 1		Tom McMillen	Democrat	112,771	48.43		Wayne Gilchrest	Republican	120,084	51.57