Early Years
Phillips was born in April 1857, to a large family of English heritage, that consisted of nine siblings, two brothers and seven sisters, and a cooper father. Known as "Willie" to his family, he had likely began his interest in the game of baseball while still in his hometown of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, considering there were at least nine amateur baseball clubs organized and playing there during the early-1870s. Canadian journalist Peter McGuire claims the Phillips family moved from Saint John in 1877, due to a major fire, which burned much of the city. However, according to Alfred Henry Spink, founder of the Sporting News, Phillips was playing baseball in the Chicago, Illinois area at earlier date.
It is certain the family settled in Chicago in the mid to late-1870s as Phillips was playing for a top amateur team of the area called the Pastime club In 1877, he played professionally for an independent team in Winona, Minnesota, the Clipper Club. The club lasted just 29 games, and joined the Minneapolis Browns of the League Alliance (LA) in May. He played with the Browns into mid-August, then joined another LA club, the Janesville Mutual, later that month for a four-day stretch. Phillips joined independent Forest City club of Cleveland, Ohio in 1878, and in 65 games had a batting average of .296 to lead the team. The next year, the Cleveland team joined the NL, which began Phillips' major league career.
Read more about this topic: Bill Phillips (first Baseman)
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