Wilfred John Phillips (27 August 1895 – 14 March 1976) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profess ...

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

and

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

Career

Phillips was born in

Bradley, Staffordshire Bradley's village hall Bradley is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 513. It is located close to the A518 road leading to the villages of Haughton and Gnosall toward ...

, and played non-league football with Bilston United before joining Football League side

in 1919. He played 14 matches for the "Potters" scoring three goals which included a brace against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

on Boxing day. However manager Arthur Shallcross was seemingly unimpressed by Phillips's performance during the 1919–20 season and he was released by the club. He went on to play for

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...

Darlaston Darlaston is an industrial town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands of England. It is located near Wednesbury and Willenhall. Topography Darlaston is situated between Wednesbury and Walsall in the valley of the River T ...

and made a return to Bilston United before he re-entered League football with

in 1923. He had an impressive first season at Rovers scoring 23 goals in 42 games and in December 1925 he joined league rivals

for £500. Phillips became a prolific forward for the "Lions" and his 27 goals in 1927–28 helped Millwall to claim the

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

title. After scoring 62 goals in 119 matches for Millwall he joined the short lived

in June 1930, and then signed for

, for another £500 fee, in May 1931. He scored on his Irons debut, a 4–2 victory against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the Football League and Premier League, who have played there since 1890. It is an all seater multi-sports facili ...

. His single season at Upton Park saw relegation to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. He then joined

before returning to his native Midlands and played for

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

champion: 1927–28

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Wilf 1895 births 1973 deaths Footballers from Staffordshire Men's association football forwards English men's footballers Bilston Town F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Ebbw Vale F.C. players Darlaston Town F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Thames A.F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Stourbridge F.C. players English Football League players