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 future Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson to his first playing contract in 1953.\n', '

In 1965, Phillips reached the Major Leagues when he was named pitching coach of the Dodgers. During his first two seasons in that post, he worked with Hall of Famers Drysdale, Sandy Koufax and Don Sutton, as Los Angeles won back-to-back National League pennants and the 1965 World Series. Although the Dodgers fell back in the standings in 1967–68, after Koufax\' retirement, they still boasted one of the strongest pitching staffs in the majors.\n', '

At the end of the 1968 season, Phillips joined former Dodger executive Dick Walsh in the Angels\' front office. Walsh was appointed general manager, while Phillips was named to the high-ranking post of director of player personnel. But when the Angels started only 11–28 in 1969 under their longtime (and original) manager, Bill Rigney, Phillips was asked to return to the field, first as a coach, and then as Rigney\'s replacement on May 27, despite his never before having managed in the minor leagues or in MLB.\n', '

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