- Andy Phillip
Andrew Michael Phillip (
March 7 1922 –April 29 ,2001 ) was a guard/forward who had an 11 year career professionalbasketball career from 1948 to 1958. Born inGranite City, Illinois , Andy Phillip played for theChicago Stags of the Basketball Association of America and the Philadelphia Warriors, Fort Wayne Pistons andBoston Celtics , all of theNational Basketball Association .Phillip attended the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign .Phillip played in the first five NBA All-Star Games, and was twice named to the All-NBA Second Team. He led the NBA in assists during the 1950-51 and 1950-52 seasons. Phillip's teams made it to the NBA Finals during his final four seasons — twice with Fort Wayne and twice with Boston. The 1957 Boston team won the NBA Championship.
Phillip was alleged by one of his
Fort Wayne Pistons teammates,George Yardley , to have conspired with gamblers to throw the1955 NBA Finals to theSyracuse Nationals . [The Wizard of Odds: How Jack Molinas Almost Destroyed the Game of Basketball. By Charley Rosen. p. 154. 2001 Seven Stories Press. ISBN 1583222685] In the decisive seventh game, Phillip turned the ball over with three seconds remaining in the game, enabling Syracuse to win by one point, 92-91. ["City Hails Nats' World Title Triumph," Syracuse Herald Journal, April 11, 1955, pp. 1, 45.]He coached the St. Louis Hawks for 10 games in 1958, posting a 6-4 record.
Phillip was elected to the
Basketball Hall of Fame in 1961.Phillip died at his home in
Rancho Mirage, CA on April 29, 2001. He was 79 years old.Notes and sources
External links
* [http://espn.go.com/classic/obit/s/2001/0502/1190497.html ESPN.com: Obituary]
* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/phillan01.html BasketballReference.com: Andy Phillip (as player)]
* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/phillan01c.html BasketballReference.com: Andy Phillip (as coach)]
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