Lefty Phillips

A native of Los Angeles who was raised in California\'s Central Valley, Phillips attended Franklin High School in Stockton. He was a left-handed pitcher in his playing days but, because of a sore arm, his professional playing career consisted of fewer than five games with the Bisbee Bees of the Class D Arizona–Texas League in 1939. With his playing days behind him, Phillips worked for a railroad and simultaneously embarked on his scouting career in his early 20s, working for the St. Louis Browns. After the Second World War, Phillips returned to baseball and became a highly respected scout for the Cincinnati Reds (1947–50) and the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers (1952–64). As an area scout in Southern California, he signed Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale, 1959 World Series MVP Larry Sherry and 21-year MLB veteran Ron Fairly for the Dodgers, among many others. He also signed f…