Alan Phillips (born 17 June 1956) is a South African retired badminton and baseball player. He won the national badminton championship 27 times, more than any other player. Phillips also played for the

South African national baseball team The South African national baseball team is the baseball team which represents the Republic of South Africa in international baseball competitions such as the World Baseball Classic and the Summer Olympics. The governing body of the team is the S ...

in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. As of October 2012, Phillips serves as a baseball coach.

Career

Phillips won 27 national titles in badminton, competing in the

South African Badminton Championships The South African Badminton Championships is an annual badminton tournament held in South Africa since 1937. The championships were originally also open to British players. Previous winners ReferencesTitle holders {{Badminton competitions Na ...

, the most of any player. He qualified for the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in Barcelona as the nation's second-ranked badminton player. However, the South African sports federation bypassed Phillips for the third-ranked player because they felt Phillips was too old. He represented South Africa in badminton in the

1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games ( French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, ...

in Victoria, British Columbia. Though South Africa does not have a professional baseball league, Phillips played baseball for various local amateur teams as a relief pitcher, including the Clyde Pinelands and Bellville Tygers. He played for the

in the

1998 Baseball World Cup The 1998 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 33rd international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

in Italy and in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. At 44, Phillips was the oldest baseball Olympian. Phillips coached the South African team in the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...

. Like many South African athletes, Phillips has a full-time job. He works as an electrical inspector.

Personal

Phillips' wife, Gussie, also plays badminton; the couple played mixed doubles in the 1994 Commonwealth Games. His sons, Anthony Phillips and Jonathan Phillips, who both played for South Africa in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, are both minor league baseball players.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Alan 1956 births Living people South African baseball players South African male badminton players Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic baseball players for South Africa Sportspeople from Cape Town Badminton players at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for South Africa