George Mira Sr obit

Cote: R.I.P. George Mira Sr., ‘The Matador,’ Hurricanes football’s first true star

 He was not on the list.

This must not get overlooked, or forgotten. Especially not now, as Miami Hurricanes football is good again, as coach Mario Cristobal’s team prepares to play Dec. 20 at Texas A&M in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Especially not now, as so many younger Canes fans think UM football history began in the 1980s, when the national championships did. As the distant past becomes the dust-covered photo album lost somewhere in the attic. George Mira died on Tuesday. He was 83. You could call him the first big star in Canes football history. You would have an argument. The UM Sports Hall of Fame’s biography calls him ”perhaps the Canes’ greatest player ever.” If that might be hyperbole, this is not: Mira, the quarterback from 1961 to 1963, was the first player who put Hurricanes football on the national map in a way it had not been before. Said UM in a statement Tuesday: “The University of Miami football program mourns the passing of legendary quarterback George Mira Sr., who played for the Canes from 1961-63. ‘The Matador’ was a two-time All-American who led the nation in total offense in 1963. He is a member of the Ring of Honor and is one of five UM players to have his jersey retired. We pass along our sincerest condolences to the Mira family.” There had been notable UM players in the 1950s such as Jim Dooley, Fran Curci and Don Bosseler, but it was the arrival of the Key West-born, Cuban-American Mira, just before Beatlemania arrived, that stirred the imagination in South Florida. Mira’s elusiveness in the pocket earned him the nickname “The Matador,” given him by then Miami Herald sportswriter Luther Evans. Mira led Miami to the 1961 Liberty Bowl, the program’s first bowl game in 19 years. He is considered the founding member of what came to be called “Quarterback U.” His No. 10 jersey was retired. Prominent in Mira lore is the time he beat the Florida Gators with a left-handed touchdown pass, when his right arm was pinned against his body by a defender and he improvised. The play would have been all over ESPN “SportsCenter,” if had existed then. Mira was a two-time All-American. In 1963 he became the first UM football player to adorn the cover of Sports Illustrated’s college preview issue. Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, Vinny Testaverde, Gino Torretta and Ken Dorsey to Cam Ward and Carson Beck, all the Canes QB greats followed. But Mira was first. He wasn’t Mira Sr. then. Wasn’t needed. George Mira Jr. would come later, and play linebacker for Miami in the 1980s. The elder Mira’s younger brother Joe also was a former Cane of some renown, and later a longtime teacher and high school football coach in Miami-Dade at several schools. The late Mira played in the NFL from 1964 to 1971 despite barely being 6 feet tall, ending his pro career as Bob Griese’s backup with the Dolphins in 1971. In his later years, Mira returned to South Florida and quietly operated the Native Conch, a food concession at Fairchild Botanical Gardens in Coral Gables — some customers not even knowing they’d just been handed that conch salad by a local legend. It was Mira’s exploits at UM, as “The Matador,” that made his name indelible in UM and Miami sports history, and not to be forgotten.

Groge Ignacio Mira was born in Key West, Florida, on January 11, 1942. Mira graduated from Key West High School in 1960. He played college football at the University of Miami under head coach Andy Gustafson.

One of the best games in Mira's collegiate career came as a junior in 1962 in the Gotham Bowl against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Despite playing in 20 °F (−7 °C) weather in front of fewer than a thousand fans at Yankee Stadium, Mira threw for 321 yards, a Miami school record at the time, and was named the bowl game's most valuable player. Despite Mira's efforts, the Cornhuskers won by two points, 36–34. The previous year, the Hurricanes lost by a point to Syracuse in the Liberty Bowl.

At the start of the 1963 season Mira was the cover story for Sports Illustrated's college preview issue. The article, written by Key West native John Underwood, was titled "One Wonderful Conch is this Mira" and featured many anecdotes about Mira's life growing up and becoming a star on the small island.

Mira was selected in the second round of the 1964 NFL draft, fifteenth overall, by the San Francisco 49ers. Primarily a reserve, he played for eight NFL seasons, 1964 through 1971, for the 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Colts, and Miami Dolphins. He was a backup to John Brodie in San Francisco and to Bob Griese in Super Bowl VI as a member of the 1971 Dolphins. With the 49ers in 1964, he threw a pass to quarterback Billy Kilmer (who was playing running back) that Kilmer eventually fumbled; the fumble would be recovered by Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall, who infamously ran 66 yards in the wrong direction.

Mira signed a multi-year contract with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in August 1972, completing 92 of 168 passes for 1356 yards and 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 1973.

With the Birmingham Americans of the new World Football League (WFL) in 1974, he was the MVP of their championship game victory, completing 155 of 313 passes for 2,248 yards and 17 touchdowns and 14 interceptions during the season. Despite the success on the field, the Birmingham franchise folded in March. In 1975, with the Jacksonville Express of the WFL, he completed 123 of 254 passes for 1,675 yards and 12 touchdowns and interceptions. The league would cease operations late in the 1975 season.

Mira finished his career in 1977, playing six games for the Toronto Argonauts as a player-coach.

Mira returned to Florida and operated the Native Conch, a food concession at Fairchild Botanical Gardens in Coral Gables. For many years he owned a Key West restaurant called George Mira's Pizza Huddle, located across the street from the junior league baseball fields where it became a haven for post-game celebrations.

His son, George Mira Jr., was an All-American linebacker at the University of Miami.

Career history

San Francisco 49ers (1964–1968)

Philadelphia Eagles (1969)

Baltimore Colts (1970)*

Miami Dolphins (1971)

Montreal Alouettes (1972–1973)

Birmingham Americans (1974)

Jacksonville Express (1975)

Toronto Argonauts (1977)