[4] After high school, Roy attended Texas A&M University for one semester hoping to play sports of some kind but, returned to Bonham after failing to make the football team.

[5] By the 1950 season, he had progressed to the top of the minor league ladder with the Tulsa Oilers where he produced a .274 batting average.

[5] McMillan made his major league debut with the Reds on April 16, 1951 at the age of 21 however, he saw little playing time as he served as a back up to the starting shortstop, Virgil Stallcup.

[1] Unhappy with Stallcup's performance, Reds manager Luke Sewell decided to promote McMillan to be the starting shortstop for the 1952 season.

[4] When second baseman, Johnny Temple joined the Reds in 1954, he teamed with McMillan through the 1959 season to become the second longest double play combination in the NL since 1900.

Despite the performance of home run hitting Frank Robinson, the Cincinnati Baseball Writers Association named McMillan the Reds’ Most Valuable Player in 1956 in recognition of the value of his excellent defensive play.

[1] In 1957, the Reds were once again in first place at mid-season when, McMillan and six of his Redleg teammates—Ed Bailey, Johnny Temple, Don Hoak, Gus Bell, Wally Post and Frank Robinson—were voted into the National League All-Star starting lineup, the result of a ballot stuffing campaign by Reds fans.

The Reds faltered after the All-Star break and dropped to fourth place in the season final standings.

With the Reds in need of pitching, McMillan was traded on December 15, 1960, to the Milwaukee Braves for Joey Jay (who won 20 games in two straight seasons) and Juan Pizarro.