July 29, 1933 – September 22, 2018
Matt Phillips was a dedicated Football Coach, Official, and Teacher for more than five decades, having coached his first team in 1957 and his last in 2017. He began his football career as a high-school player in Toronto, and from there he moved on to play at George Pepperdine College – now better known as Pepperdine University – in Los Angeles. It was there that he earned a degree in physical education, and returned home to Canada to teach.
Before starting to teach, however, he had a short stint in the Canadian Football League, with the B.C. Lions, but his playing career was cut short due to injury. To this day, his football card still circulates on ebay.
As a teacher and coach, his resume in the Lower Mainland is a long one, and includes Vancouver’s Lord Byng Secondary, Cambie Junior High, Richmond’s London Junior and Steveston Secondary, North Delta Senior Secondary (1982), Lord Tweedsmuir (2003 – 2013) – where he helped launch the program in 2003 – and Earl Marriott Secondary (2015 – 2017).
He was inducted into the B.C. Football Hall of Fame in 2016, and is an Honorary Life Member of the BC High School Football Association. BC School Sports recognized Matt Phillips with their highest honor in 1990 by inscribing his name onto their Honor Roll.
He was a fixture in the Richmond School District & Sports Community as evidenced by his induction into the Richmond Sports Wall of Fame
Earl Marriott head football coach Michael Mackay-Dunn, brought Matt aboard as a volunteer assistant coach in 2015, after Matt, who lived near the school and often attended games as a fan, began calling him up with post-game observations and thoughts.
“I don’t do much, and I try not to butt in too much with what the other coaches are doing, but I think I can help,” Phillips told Peace Arch News in a 2015 interview. “I’m not here because I’m a pretty face – there’s never a situation we run into during a game that I haven’t seen before somewhere.”
Mackay-Dunn called him “an example of somebody who really knows the importance of athletics – and football – for young kids. “We’re not just trying to produce star football players, we’re out here trying to produce good people, and Matt did that his whole life,” he continued.
Matt Phillips was part of the Steveston coaching pipeline (Bob Murphy, Ian Anderson, Doug Staveley, Charlie Phipps) that also officiated football games. He served as President of the BC High School Football Association in 1985, as well as the BCFOA.
Matt was an outstanding citizen. In addition to his coaching and officiating, he was an active and enthusiastic participant in political life, including running for Parliament in 1968 for the Progressive Conservatives. He threw himself into all his activities with passion.
He leaves his country better off for his time with us.