Basketball

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 Coach Dean Smith of the University of North Carolina for McMillen's services. 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 received his B.S. from University of Maryland in chemistry, which is part of the University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. After graduating from Maryland in 1974, McMillen was drafted 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. McMillen signed with the Braves. 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. McMillen played for a year in Europe before joining the 1975-76 Buffalo Braves.

Congress

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. In 1992, the 4th was redrawn as a black-majority district due to a mandate from the Justice Department. McMillen's home in Crofton was drawn into the Eastern Shore-based 1st District, represented by one-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. McMillen left the House in January 1993.

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

Election history

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

[ Source: Wikipedia ]