Joseph Anthony Phillips (30 December 1924 – 16 May 1969) was a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1950s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

Junior All Blacks The All Blacks XV is the second national rugby union team of New Zealand, after the All Blacks. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks ...

(

New Zealand Schoolboys The New Zealand Schools rugby union team, commonly referred to as the New Zealand schoolboys rugby team, is composed of secondary school students in New Zealand. Many of the players have gone on to play for professional clubs or provinces or for ...

), and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

and

Rugby League XIII The Rugby League XIII was an invitation team run along the same lines as the Rugby Union Barbarians team. Particularly in the Second World War, when international fixtures were restricted to England V Wales. The Rugby League would play representat ...

, and at club level for

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predomi ...

( Heritage No.) and

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of Bi ...

, as a , i.e. number 1.

Playing career

Bradford Northern

Phillips played , and scored three

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s in

's 6-13 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Final during the 1951–52 season at

Leeds Road Leeds Road was a association football, football stadium in Huddersfield, England. It operated from its construction in 1908 until the Kirklees Stadium was opened nearby for the 1994–95 in English football, 1994–95 season. It was the home of ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

on Saturday 10 May 1952. He made 232 appearances for the club, scoring 47-tries and 661-goals.

Keighley

Phillips joined

in 1957. He spent three seasons at the club, playing 80 games and scoring 20 tries and 225 goals.

International honours

Phillips represented

(RL) while at

, and represented

(RL) while at

Post-playing career

In 1964, Phillips, along with former team-mate

Trevor Foster Trevor John French Foster MBE (3 December 1914 – 2 April 2005) was a Welsh rugby footballer, and coach. He played rugby union for Newport and rugby league for Bradford Northern. Trevor Foster was a Sergeant Physical Training Instructor in t ...

, helped to lead a campaign which resulted in the reformation of Bradford Northern after the club folded a year earlier due to increasing financial difficulties. He later served as the club's chairman, and was also a director at Keighley.

Death and legacy

Phillips died on 16 May 1969 (the day before the

1968–69 Challenge Cup The 1968–69 Challenge Cup was the 68th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was contested by Castleford and Salford at Wembley in front of a crowd of 97,939. Castleford won the match 11–6. The w ...

Final) in a hotel in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, aged 44, leaving a wife; Margaret C. (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Dixon) (marriage registered during first ¼ 1954 in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

district), and two children; Charles D. Phillips (birth registered during fourth ¼ in

district), and Joseph Christian Phillips (birth registered during fourth ¼ in

district). Later that year, Bradford named a trophy in his honour, the Joe Phillips Memorial Trophy, which is contested for between Phillips' former clubs, Bradford and Keighley.

References

External links

Photograph "Largest ever Northern Crowd - 14th March 1953 saw the largest ever crowd to watch a Bradford Northern game at Odsal when Huddersfield were the visitors in a third round Challenge Cup tie. Northern lost the tie 7-17. - 14/03/1953" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Joe Phillips makes a break - Joe Phillips, the attacking Kiwi full back, who played for Bradford Northern between 1950 and 1956 amassing a massive 1,463 points including 661 goals. He once score 14 goals in a single game against Batley in 1952. - 01/01/1955" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Trevor Foster receives his testimonial cheque - Trevor Foster receives his testimonial cheque with Joe Phillips - 03/08/1972 (sic)" at rlhp.co.ukSearch for "Joseph Phillips" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.ukSearch for "Joe Phillips" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Joseph 1924 births 1969 deaths Bradford Bulls players Keighley Cougars players New Zealand rugby league players Other Nationalities rugby league team players Place of birth missing Rugby league fullbacks Rugby League XIII players