Biography.guide
Home › People › Baseball player › Dick Phillips
Portrait of Dick Phillips

Dick Phillips

1931 – 1998

American baseball player and coach

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Dick Phillips

Lived 1931 – 1998 (aged 66). Dick Phillips was an American baseball player.

Richard Eugene Phillips (November 24, 1931 – March 29, 1998) was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. A native of Racine, Wisconsin, who attended Valparaiso University, Phillips batted left-handed, threw right-handed, stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg).

Phillips' playing career extended from through , with time out for service in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. An outfielder when he broke into baseball, he later was a first baseman, second baseman and shortstop. He spent his first decade in professional baseball in the minor leagues, mostly in the farm systems of the Milwaukee Braves and San Francisco Giants.

After he won the 1961 Pacific Coast League MVP Award, the Giants gave the 30-year-old Phillips his first Major League opportunity at the outset of the season; however, he went hitless in three at bats and was returned to the minors at the May roster cutdown. The following season, the Giants sold Phillips' contract to the Washington Senators where he would spend the entire and campaigns on Washington's roster, starting 67 games at first base for the 1963 Senators and 52 more there in 1964. In 1965, he returned to the minors, as a first baseman with the Senators' Triple-A Hawaii Islanders affiliate. Apart from a late-season call-up in 1966, he spent the remainder of his playing career with Hawaii.

As a Major Leaguer, Phillips compiled a lifetime batting average of .229, with 136 hits, 12 home runs and 60 runs batted in.

Phillips remained in the game after his playing career ended, scouting for the Pittsburgh Pirates and managing in the farm systems of the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers from 1973 to 1979 and 1981 to 1983. He also spent the season as a coach with the Padres under manager Jerry Coleman. In his final professional baseball assignments, he managed in independent league baseball in 1995–96.

Phillips served as manager of the PCL's Vancouver Canadians in 1982–83, and also was the team's assistant general manager during the early 1990s.

He died in Burnaby, British Columbia, at the age of 66.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Also known as
Richard Eugene Phillips

People in Dick Phillips's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Dick Phillips's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Dick Phillips?

American baseball player and coach (1931–1998)

When was Dick Phillips born?

Dick Phillips was born on 24 November 1931 in Racine.

When did Dick Phillips die?

Dick Phillips died on 29 March 1998 in Burnaby.

What was Dick Phillips's occupation?

Dick Phillips was a baseball player.

What nationality was Dick Phillips?

Dick Phillips was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Dick Phillips

· Wikidata: Q5273265

· DBpedia: Dick Phillips

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Dick Phillips. https://biography.guide/dick-phillips/

MLA: "Dick Phillips." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/dick-phillips/.

Chicago: "Dick Phillips." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/dick-phillips/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-24 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:09 UTC