Trevor Phillips (18 September 1952 – 11 November 2020) was an English professional

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 lea ...

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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for four clubs between 1969 and 1984. Phillips was raised in the Oakwell area of

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

and attended Grove Street School. he went on to play for the Yorkshire Old Boys League, the youth English international team, and four football league clubs.

Playing career

Phillips began his career as an apprentice with

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

, where he turned professional and made his debut during the 1969–70 season. Over the next decade Phillips made more than 300

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

appearances for the Millers, scoring 80 goals. In June 1979, Phillips moved to fellow

Football League Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the Third Division become the fourth tier of English football. In 2 ...

side

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

, but the following March he joined

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

for a club record £55,000. Phillips made his debut in a 1–0 defeat at

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

on 15 March 1980, alongside

Ian Rush Ian James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best Welsh playe ...

, and went on to be a regular in the side before joining

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

on loan in March 1982.''Where are they now?'', Chester City v. Stockport County matchday programme; 25/8/1992; pg. 20 He finished as the club's joint highest scorer in 1980–81 with seven goals. Phillips returned to Chester to play for the club in their final game of the season but then made a permanent switch to

Edgeley Park Edgeley Park is a association football, football stadium in Edgeley, Stockport, England. Built for Stockport RFC, a rugby league club, in 1891, by 1903 the rugby club was defunct and Stockport County F.C., Stockport County Football Club moved i ...

in the summer of 1982. However, he was back at Chester for the start of the 1983–84 season on a non–contract basis. He was released by the club in February 1984, shortly after the arrival of new manager John McGrath. Along with

Trevor Storton Trevor Storton (26 November 1949 – 23 March 2011) was an English footballer who played as a central defender. The early years He began his career at Tranmere Rovers, playing alongside his older brother Stan, he played over 100 games for the ...

, Phillips joined non-league side Oswestry Town. He spent two years with Oswestry before finishing playing. After leaving professional football, Phillips began working as a

painter and decorator A house painter and decorator is a tradesperson responsible for the painting and decorating of buildings, and is also known as a decorator, or house painter.''The Modern Painter and Decorator'' volume 1 1921 Caxton The purpose of painting is t ...

while living in

Tarvin Tarvin is a village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It had a population of 2,693 people at the 2001 UK census, rising to 2,728 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census, ...

near

. He died in November 2020, aged 68.

Career honours

Rotherham United *

Football League Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier L ...

promotion as third place team: 1974–75.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Trevor (Footballer) 1952 births 2020 deaths Footballers from Rotherham English men's footballers Men's association football forwards English Football League players Rotherham United F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Oswestry Town F.C. players