Henry D. Phillips

Henry Disbrow Phillips (January 16, 1882 – June 29, 1955) was an American Episcopal bishop (1938–1955) and college football player and coach (1900–1909).

Henry Phillips

Phillips while playing for Sewanee
Sewanee Tigers
Position	Guard, Fullback
Personal information
Born:	(1882-01-16)January 16, 1882 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died:	June 29, 1955(1955-06-29) (aged 73) Boone, North Carolina
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career history
College	Sewanee (1900–1905)
Career highlights and awards
3× All-Southern (1902, 1903, 1904) Sewanee Athletics Hall of Fame All-Time Sewanee football team
College Football Hall of Fame (1959)
Bishop of Southwestern Virginia
Church	Episcopal Church
Diocese	Southwestern Virginia
Elected	May 17, 1938
In office	1938–1954
Predecessor	Robert Carter Jett
Successor	William H. Marmion
Orders
Ordination	June 16, 1907 by Cleland Kinloch Nelson
Consecration	September 27, 1938 by Henry St. George Tucker
Personal details
Born	(1882-01-16)January 16, 1882 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died	June 29, 1955(1955-06-29) (aged 73) Boone, North Carolina, United States
Buried	Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Columbia, South Carolina)
Nationality	American
Denomination	Anglican
Parents	Henry Desborough Phillips Nancy Phillips
Spouse	Ella Parr Reese (m. September 25, 1907)
Children	3
Occupation	Previously college footballer
Alma mater	Sewanee: The University of the South

Early life

Henry Disbrow Phillips was born on January 16, 1882. He was educated at Boys High School in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sewanee

Henry D. Phillips attended Sewanee: The University of the South. He played for the Sewanee Tigers football team and baseball team.^[1][2] He is honored with a stained glass window in the University Chapel.^[3]

Football playing career

Phillips was thrice selected All-Southern. Sportswriter Fuzzy Woodruff called him "the greatest football player who ever sank cleated shoes into a chalk line south of the Mason-Dixon line."^[4] Coach John Heisman mentioned him third when he selected the twenty-five best Southern football players in 1915.^[5][a]

On the dedication of Harris Stadium in 1957, one writer noted "The University of the South has numbered among its athletes some of the greatest. Anyone who played against giant Henry Phillips in 1901-1903 felt that he was nothing less than the best as guard and fullback."^[7] He was posthumously elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959 and is a member of the Sewanee Athletics Hall of Fame.

A description of his play by John de Saulles included "His weakness has always, and only, been that of Southern players generally – defense."^[8]

Football coaching career

He played Sewanee football for six seasons, and then spent two as a line coach. The two as line coach included a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) championship in 1909. He assisted his alma mater from 1909–1911; and 1914–1915.

SIAA

He was also president of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) from 1919 to 1922.

Bishop

After graduating from Sewanee Phillips was ordained in the Episcopal Church. He was ordained deacon in 1906 and priest in 1907.

La Grange

He then served as minister-in-charge of St Mark's Church in LaGrange, Georgia and warden of the LaGrange Settlement till 1915.

Chaplain and Professor

Between 1915 and 1921 he served as chaplain at the University of South, professor of English Bible and rector of Otey Memorial Parish in Sewanee, Tennessee.^[9]

Rector at Trinity Church

In 1922 he became rector of Trinity Church in Columbia, South Carolina, a post he retained till 1938.

Bishop of Southwestern Virginia

In 1938 he was elected Bishop of Southwestern Virginia and was consecrated on September 27, 1938, by Presiding Bishop Henry St. George Tucker. He retired on March 24, 1954, 15 months before his death.

Notes

1. Phillips was nominated though not selected for an Associated Press All-Time Southeast 1869-1919 era team.^[6]