Harry Phillips

Henry Taylor Phillips... both his father George (d.1915) and mother Annie (d.1958) were born in Scotland... family was Protestant (United)... he was 76 years old when he passed away in Toronto on 14 May 1989 (he was buried at Prospect Cemetery, Section 39, Lot 300)... grew up participating in soccer, badminton, tennis, golf... worked at the Dingman Co. in Toronto from 1929 to 1935 (”general work in the manufacture of soap”)... moved to Schumacher in 1936 to work for the McIntyre Gold Mines... served in the Royal Canadian Air Force for nearly two years from 1941 to 1943 during World War II (he was a sergeant at the time of his discharge)...

posthumously honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as a player... in 1950, he was one of 16 footballers shortlisted in a Best in 50 Years poll by The Canadian Press...

with Toronto Scottish FC, a Dominion of Canada Football Championship winner (Challenge Trophy in 1933)... with Toronto John Inglis, a Toronto & District League winner (1944) and an Ontario Major League winner (1945)... with Chicago Viking AA, a USSFA National Challenge Trophy winner (Dewar Challenge Trophy in 1946)...

honoured by Toronto Oakwood with a testimonial match on 4 September 1950 (he took four stitches to the head after a collision in the friendly match)... on 20 June 1958, organised a Toronto Scottish 25th anniversary reunion dinner at the Royal York Hotel (celebrating the team’s 1933 North American championship)...

as noted in The Shotgun in 1944, he “plays centre half and rates with the best”... as noted in The Shotgun in 1945, “Mr. third Back himself, rated the best centre half in the city”... as noted in The Shotgun, Phillips was the “Pin-up Boy at centre half who plays the most important position on the team and plays it well, his masterful teamwork in placing the ball in the right place at the right time“... as noted in 1947 in the Toronto Star, Phillips was “a tough baby to get past... definitely a defensive centre half”... as noted in a 1948 Greenbacks team program, he was “for years classed as the top man in his position in North American soccer”... as noted in 1949 in the Toronto Star, “one of the game’s great hereabouts”... wrote Bill Entwistle in 1950, “Harry probably has won more honours at the sport than any other player on the North American continent“... noted Ed Waring in 1958 in The Globe, “one of Canada’s greatest soccer players”... wrote Colin Jose, “an outstanding centre half”...