Pat Philley

Homer Patrick Philley... soccer family (brothers Clem and Brian)... his parents were Homer and Nora Philley... he married his wife Patricia on 29 November 1952 (they had children Kevin, Shannon, Nora, Tim, Cory)... he was 90 years old when he passed away on 22 November 2019... worked as a Chartered Accountant for Canadian Forest Products for 35 years (he retired as Vice-President for Canfor Ltd in 1987)...

honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as a player... honoured by the Soccer Hall of Fame of British Columbia and the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame... his brother Brian Philley is also an honoured member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame...

represented Canada in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 1957, of note the first-ever Canadian team to feature in the competition... made three international “A” appearances in 1957 with Canada Soccer's National Team… was part of the All Canada side selected to face touring side Lokomotiv Moscow in 1956... was part of British Columbia and Vancouver all-star teams selected to face international touring teams from 1949 to 1957...

with Vancouver City FC, a Dominion of Canada Football Championship winner (Challenge Trophy in 1950)... with Westminster Royals FC, a North American Championship winner (Jack Diamond Trophy in 1953)... a two-time Pacific Coast League winner (1953-54 and 1956)... a six-time all-star selection in a nine-year span from 1949 to 1957 (including All Canada selections in 1956 and 1957)...

once noted as “the durable centre half”... as noted in 1949, he was a “clever play-making artist”... wrote Roy Jukich for the Vancouver Sun in 1958, “when Pat’s right, nobody but nobody gets past him”... said Philley in 2014, brother “Brian was a skilled player (while) I was kind of a rough and tough... people liked that I was more rough and he was more smooth”... as noted in his 2019 obituary, “a gifted athlete and a fierce competitor, he and his brother Brian were star soccer players through the ‘40s and 50’s in Vancouver”... also noted in his obituary, “he was a man of wit, intelligence, compassion, generosity and faith”...