Biography
Creative forward Trevor Phillips joined the Tigers in June 1979 for a record fee of £75,000 as manager Ken Houghton sought to build a squad capable of winning promotion out of Division Three – alongside Phillips, the signing of Mick Tait (for whom the club paid a new record fee weeks later) and Paul Moss represented a considerable investment. Alas Houghton could not find a successful formula on the pitch and City managed only four league wins before a 7-2 shoeing at Brentford in December 1979 led to Houghton’s dismissal. Phillips had contributed three goals in 24 starts under Houghton, in a 2-2 draw with Oxford, a 2-3 defeat at Millwall and a 2-0 win over Carlisle (the last of Houghton’s four victories).
Phillips missed five games in November and when he returned to first team action Chris Chilton was in temporary charge of the side. Phillips started another three games under Chilton but in January 1980 the City manager’s job was handed to former Wales manager Mike Smith and Phillips, whose face clearly didn’t fit with the new gaffer. Despite blasting five goals past Sculcoates Amateurs for City’s reserve side in the ERCFA Senior Cup, Trevor was not seen again in the first team and left the Tigers in March 1980.
Trevor Phillips was born in Barnsley and raised close to the Tykes’ Oakwell home ground, but the diminutive forward joined Division Three side Rotherham United as a teenage apprentice and made his first team debut against Barrow in January 1970 at the age of 17. He scored his first goal for the Millers in his third game a month later, a 1-2 defeat to Bury. He was introduced gently to the first team at Millmoor, playing alongside ex-Tiger David Lill and journeyman player turned journeyman manager Neil Warnock. Phillips capped his efforts during the 1969/70 season by netting a mid-April brace against Rochdale.
During his first four seasons Trevor was a first team squad player but rarely a regular starter. But when the Millers dropped into Division Four at the end of the 1972/73 season Phillips became a regular first choice – in the 1973/74 season he netted 14 times in 42 appearances. However in the next two seasons he was again not an automatic first choice, making 23 and 29 league appearances respectively. In the 1976/77 season he was finally first-name-on-the-teamsheet material as he started every game in League and Cup and scored 23 goals. The next two seasons saw similar consistency, netting 12 and 16 goals respectively, and in the 1978/79 season he finally finished Rotherham’s top league goalscorer with 14 strikes while also playing in a famous League Cup victory over a full-strength Arsenal side. Phillips scored three hattricks during his ten years with the Millers – against Crewe Alexandra in September 1973, Reading in May 1977 and Spennymoor United in a November 1977 FA Cup win. When he left for Hull City in June 1979 at the age of 26 he had made 363 appearances for Rotherham United and scored 91 goals.
In March 1980, after only nine months at Hull City, Division Three side Chester paid £51,000 for Phillips’ services, in two years at Sealand Road Phillips scored 13 goals in 82 appearances. Chester were struggling at the foot of the table during the 1981/82 season and in March 1982 Trevor joined Division Four side Stockport County on loan, scoring four goals in 13 appearances before returning to parent club Chester for the last game of the season. Phillips made the switch to Stockport County permanent in June 1982 and added nine goals in 41 appearances during the 1982/83 season. Phillips returned to Chester for the 1983/84 season on non-contract terms but managed only three goals in 13 appearances before leaving again in February 1984 to join non-league side Oswestry Town. He made a total of 523 senior appearances during his professional career and scored 120 goals.
Trevor ended his playing days at Oswestry Town at the end of 1986, after which he lived in Tarvin near Chester and started a second career as a painter and decorator while also coaching local league sides. In his mid-60s he suffered a neurodegenerative disease and died in November 2020.
Phillips played for the England Youth team in his teenage years at Rotherham.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 18 September 1952, Barnsley
Hull City First Game: 11 August 1979, Sheffield Wednesday A (League Cup First Round First Leg), 26 years, 327 days old
Hull City Final Game: 29 December 1979, Oxford United A (Division Three), 27 years, 102 days old
Clubs
Rotherham United (1969-1979), Hull City (1979-1980), Chester (1980-1982), Stockport County (1982, loan), Stockport County (1982-1983), Chester City (1983-1984), Oswestry Town (1984-1986)
Hull City Record
Career: 24 apps, 3 goals
Trevor Phillips| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979/80 | 22 (0) | 3 | – | – | 2 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |