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 Phil was born in
Caersws in scenic mid-Wales where his playing career began.
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Personal Information |
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Class of 1997 |
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Born: Caersws,
Wales - December 22, 1932 |
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After
graduating from the University of Wales with degrees in Physics, Math and
Education, he was a professional player for 12 seasons at Leyton Orient
(4), West Ham United (4) and Aston Villa (4), in the English Football
League. Phil's talents on the
field earned him 38 appearances at all 5, then existing, levels of the
national teams of Wales: Under 14 (1), Under 18 (1), University (4),
Amateur (15) and Professional (17). He also played for the multinational, Football League of England
team against the Italian league in Milan in 1960. Phil earned his English Football
Association coaching license in the early 60s and then served on the
Association's Coaching Staff for five years from 1962-66.
He came to the
United States in 1966 as General Manager and player/coach of the Atlanta
Chiefs. The results of his
coaching and leadership came in 1968, their second year of play, when the
Chiefs won the first ever national professional sports championship for
Atlanta. Phil was named 1968
North American Soccer League (NASL) Coach of the year and appointed Coach
of the U.S. World Cup 1970 team which qualified v Canada and Bermuda in
1968 to play in the second round in 1969. Unfortunately, the NASL dropped from 17 to 5 teams in
January 1969. On then being
appointed to take on the challenge of rebuilding a nationwide
professional league, Phil resigned from both coaching positions and
served as Executive Director and Commissioner of the NASL from 1969 to
1983. By 1978 he had rebuilt the
league from 5 to 24 franchises, located throughout Canada and the United
States, and organized the Trans-Atlantic Cup, an annual tournament
involving the two best NASL teams and two leading clubs from overseas. In
addition to his responsibilities with the NASL, Phil served as Vice
President of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) from 1969-1983. In 1971, he created the plan for
Pelé
to join the New York Cosmos in 1975 and be the spokesperson and image for
soccer in Canada and the U.S. In
1976, Phil managed the U.S. Bicentennial Cup, involving the national
teams of Brazil, England, Italy and a U.S. All-star team. He also managed the FIFA World
All-Star game at Giants Stadium, in New Jersey in 1982 as part of his
vision to have the U.S. host the World Cup. With Dr. Henry Kissinger,
Pelé
and
Franz Beckenbauer
actively involved, Phil and his NASL staff produced the 1983 bid for
World Cup '86 and he played a key role as advisor to the USSF President
in the successful 1987 bid to host World Cup USA '94.From 1983 to 1990, he served as
Chairman of the company handling USSF marketing before becoming
consultant to England's ITV coverage of World Cup USA '94. He then served
as the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) Venue Competition
Manager in Athens, Georgia where the 1996 Olympic soccer semi-finals and
finals for both men and women were held at the University of Georgia's
86,000 seat stadium.
With more than 30
years of US soccer leadership since 1996, Phil has been one of the major
driving forces behind the growth of soccer at all levels. He was inducted
into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame June 14, 1997, having already
been inducted into the Georgia Soccer Hall of Fame on January 10,
1997. Phil and his wife Ruth, the
administrator of the USSF and NASL Referee programs from 1969-78, are
residents of Dunwoody, Georgia, a northern suburb of Atlanta.
North American
Soccer League Statistics |
