Tommy Phillips
Tommy Phillips | |||
---|---|---|---|
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1945 | |||
Born |
Rat Portage, Ontario, Canada | May 22, 1883||
Died |
November 30, 1923 Toronto, Ontario, Canada | (aged 40)||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
Weight | 168 lb (76 kg; 12 st 0 lb) | ||
Position | Left wing | ||
Played for | ) | ||
Playing career | 1900–1912 |
Thomas Neil Phillips (May 22, 1883 – November 30, 1923) was a Canadian professional
One of the best defensive forwards of his era, Phillips was also known for his all-around skill, particularly his strong shot and endurance, and was considered, alongside Frank McGee, one of the two best players in all of hockey. His younger brother, Russell, also played for the Thistles and was a member of the team when they won the Stanley Cup. When the Hockey Hall of Fame was founded in 1945, Phillips was one of the original nine inductees.
Life and playing career
Early life
Phillips was born in
As a young child Phillips learned to play hockey, and by 1895 he had joined the
Regarded as one of the best players in Northwestern Ontario, Phillips moved east to Montreal in September 1902 to study electrical engineering at McGill University.[10] He joined the university's hockey team, which had just moved to a new Canadian university league, and was immediately named captain.[10][11] Phillips only played one match for McGill, on January 23, 1903, against Queen's University; McGill lost 7–0.[12] Days after the game the Montreal Hockey Club asked Phillips to join them for their Stanley Cup challenge series against the Winnipeg Victorias. This required the approval of the other university clubs, which agreed on the condition that Phillips end his McGill career, which he did.[13] Montreal won the series; Phillips finished third on the team in scoring with six goals in four games.[14] Phillips also earned praise for his defensive play, particularly his ability to stop Tony Gingras, one of the top players on the Victorias.[15]
Later in 1902 Phillips moved to Toronto to attend the Central Business School. He joined the Toronto Marlboros and, after changing positions to rover, was regarded as the team's best player.[11] The Marlboros won both the Toronto city and the Ontario Hockey Association senior championships, and felt confident enough with Phillips on the roster to challenge the Ottawa Hockey Club for the Stanley Cup.[16] The Marlboros lost the series; Phillips had the most assists, though also the most penalty minutes of any player in the series, with eight and fifteen, respectively.[17] He was also regarded by Ottawa reporters to be by far the best player on the Marlboros, with one saying he was "much too fast a man for the company in which he is travelling."[18]
Kenora and Ottawa
Phillips moved back to Rat Portage in 1904 when he learned his father was dying (James Phillips died in May 1904).
The Thistles won the Stirling Cup as champions of the Manitoba league in the 1905–06 season, which allowed them the right to challenge for the Cup again, since won by the Montreal Wanderers; Philipps tied with Billy Breen of the Winnipeg Hockey Club for the most goals with 24 each.[27] There was an early spring that year, and with natural ice used at the time, the series had to wait until the following winter.[28] In the 1906–07 season, Phillips led the league in goals, with eighteen.[17] In the first game of the Thistles' successful two-game, total-goal Stanley Cup challenge against the Wanderers in January 1907, Phillips scored all four goals in the Thistles' 4–2 victory;[29] he followed that up with three goals in the second game, an 8–6 victory, giving the Thistles a 12–6 win. A two-game rematch two months later saw the team lose; Phillips' nine goals, and sixteen penalty minutes led both categories.[17]
Prior to the start of the 1907–08 season, he was offered between $1,500 and $1,800 to play for the Wanderers, but instead signed with the Ottawa Senators for a salary of $1,500. Phillips explained that he was ready to sign with the Wanderers, but the contract he received did not include everything promised.
Western Canada and later life
Though offered a high salary to stay in Ottawa, reportedly up to $2000 for the season, Phillips decided to retire from hockey. He moved to Vancouver to take up a job in the lumber industry.
Over the summer Phillips was invited by Patrick to move to Nelson, British Columbia, where the latter was putting together a club of star players to challenge for the Cup.[38] He played in 1909–10 with the local team, retiring after the season and taking a position as a manager of a lumber company in Vancouver. When Patrick and his brother Frank formed the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) in 1911, Phillips was convinced to come out of retirement and join one of the teams in the new league, the Vancouver Millionaires.[39] Phillips finished the 1912 season fourth on Vancouver in goals, and seventh overall in the league, with seventeen in fourteen games.[40] Phillips, who realized that his skills had diminished, retired for a second time at the end of the season.[41] A close friend of the Patricks, he remained close to the league, and occasionally officiated matches after his retirement.[42]
After retiring from hockey Phillips ran his own lumber company Timms, Phillips and Company and later moved to Toronto in 1920.[43] Phillips died of blood poisoning at the age of 40 in his residence at 19 Edgewood Crescent in Toronto, five days after having an ulcerated tooth removed. He had married Ella Gerturde Kilgour in Hamilton on January 4, 1911, and they had three children: Margery, Mary and James.[44] Phillips was a member of Rosedale Community Church and a Freemason.[45]
When the Hockey Hall of Fame was founded in 1945, Phillips was inducted as one of the first nine inductees.[15] He was also inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.[46]
Career statistics
Regular season
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Stanley Cup Challenge Games
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Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1899–1900 | Rat Portage Thistles
|
MNWHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1900–01 | Rat Portage Thistles | MNWHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1901–02 | Rat Portage Thistles | MNWHA | 9 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1902–03 | McGill University Redmen
|
CIHU | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1902–03 | Montreal AAA | CAHL | 4 | 6 | 0 | 6 | — | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | — | ||
1903–04 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 15 | ||
1904–05 | Rat Portage Thistles | MHL | 8 | 26 | 0 | 26 | — | 3 | 8 | 0 | 8 | — | ||
1905–06 | Kenora Thistles | MHL | 9 | 24 | 0 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1906–07 | Kenora Thistles | MHL | 6 | 18 | 0 | 18 | — | 6 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 25 | ||
1907–08 | Ottawa Hockey Club
|
ECAHA
|
10 | 26 | 0 | 26 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1908–09 | Edmonton Hockey Club | Exhib | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
1909–10 | Nelson Hockey Club | WKHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1911–12 | Vancouver Millionaires | PCHA | 17 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
CAHL totals | 4 | 6 | 0 | 6 | — | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | — | ||||
MHL totals | 23 | 68 | 0 | 68 | — | 9 | 21 | 0 | 21 | 25 | ||||
ECAHA totals | 10 | 26 | 0 | 26 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
PCHA totals | 17 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — |
Notes
- ^ a b Zweig 2012–2013a, p. 11
- ^ Zweig 2012–2013a, pp. 10–11
- ^ Zweig 2022, p. 35
- ^ Zweig 2022, p. 36
- ^ Danakas & Brignall 2006, p. 73
- ^ Not to be confused with the league of the same name that existed in 1903–04; Zweig 2012–2013a, p. 13
- ^ a b c Zweig 2012–2013a, p. 13
- ^ Zweig 2022, p. 59
- ^ Zweig 2012–2013a, p. 15
- ^ a b Zweig 2012–2013b, p. 18
- ^ a b c Zweig 2007
- ^ Zweig 2012–2013b, pp. 23–24
- ^ Zweig 2022, pp. 97–98
- ^ Coleman 1964, pp. 77–80
- ^ a b Zweig 2012–2013b, p. 24
- ^ Harper 2013, p. 51
- ^ a b c Diamond 2003, p. 622
- ^ Harper 2013, pp. 53–54
- ^ Zweig 2022, p. 146
- ^ Danakas & Brignall 2006, p. 38
- ^ McKinley 2009, p. 51
- ^ Zweig 2022, p. 20
- ^ Danakas & Brignall 2006, p. 39
- ^ Jenish 1992, p. 53
- ^ Danakas & Brignall 2006, pp. 44–45
- ^ Danakas & Brignall 2006, pp. 55–58
- ^ Zweig 2022, p. 207
- ^ Danakas & Brignall 2006, pp. 66–68
- ^ Weir, Chapman & Weir 1999, p. 73
- ^ Kitchen 2008, p. 159
- ^ Lorenz 2015, p. 2097
- ^ Lappage 1988, p. 93
- ^ Kitchen 2008, p. 160
- ^ Zweig 2022, p. 295
- ^ Jenish 1992, p. 74
- ^ a b Jenish 1992, p. 75
- ^ Zweig 2022, p. 297
- ^ Nesteroff 2011
- ^ Bowlsby 2012, p. 12
- ^ Bowlsby 2012, p. 25
- ^ Coleman 1964, p. 635
- ^ Bowlsby 2012, p. 233
- ^ Zweig 2022, p. 304
- ^ Zweig 2022, pp. 304–305
- ^ "Obituary: Thomas Neil Phillips". The Globe and Mail. December 1, 1923. p. 3.
- ^ Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame 2010
References
- Bowlsby, Craig H. (2012), Empire of Ice: The Rise and Fall of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, 1911–1926, Vancouver: Knights of Winter, ISBN 978-0-9691705-6-3
- Coleman, Charles L. (1964), The Trail of the Stanley Cup, Volume 1: 1893–1926 inc., Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing, ISBN 0-8403-2941-5
- Danakas, John; Brignall, Richard (2006), Small Town Glory, Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, ISBN 978-1-55028-961-9
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (February 2003), Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Hockey League, Second Edition, New York: Total Sports Publishing (published 2002), ISBN 1-894963-16-4
- Harper, Stephen J. (2013), A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & The Rise of Professional Hockey, Toronto: Simon & Schuster Canada, ISBN 978-1-4767-1653-4
- Jenish, D'Arcy (1992), The Stanley Cup: A Hundred Years of Hockey at Its Best, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, ISBN 0-7710-4406-2
- Kitchen, Paul (2008), Win, Tie, or Wrangle: The Inside Story of the Old Ottawa Senators 1883–1935, Manotick, Ontario: Penumbra Press, ISBN 978-1-897323-46-5
- Lappage, R.S. (1988), "The Kenora Thistles' Stanley Cup Trail", Canadian Journal of History of Sport, 19 (2): 79–100,
- Lorenz, Stacy L. (2015), "'The Product of the Town Itself': Community Representation and the Stanley Cup Hockey Challenges of the Kenora Thistles, 1903–1907", The International Journal of the History of Sport, 32 (17): 2078–2106, S2CID 147202577
- McKinley, Michael (2009), Hockey: A People's History, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, ISBN 978-0-7710-5771-7
- Nesteroff, Gret (May 26, 2011), "Nelson's Stanley Cup challenge", Nelson Star, Nelson, British Columbia, retrieved November 2, 2017
- Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame (2010), Tommy Phillips Page, NWOSportsHallofFame.com, retrieved May 27, 2010
- Weir, Glenn; Chapman, Jeff; Weir, Travis (1999), Ultimate Hockey, Toronto: Stoddart Publishing, ISBN 0-7737-6057-1
- Zweig, Eric (January 15, 2007), "Thistles still stick together", Toronto Star, Toronto, retrieved November 2, 2017
- Zweig, Eric (2012–2013a), "Au Revoir, Rat Portage: The Early Days of Tommy Phillips", Hockey Research Journal, 16: 9–17
- Zweig, Eric (2012–2013b), "Bonjour Montréal", Hockey Research Journal, 16: 18–25
- Zweig, Eric (2022), Engraved in History: The Story of the Stanely Cup Champion Kenora Thistles, Kenora, Ontario: Rat Portage Press, ISBN 978-1-7778897-0-8
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey