Clarkson to name field after ex-coach Phillips

POTSDAM — Clarkson University will honor former baseball player and coach Jack Phillips on Saturday when the school's baseball field is dedicated in his name.

A 1943 graduate of Clarkson, Phillips coached the baseball team from 1965-88, accumulating 170 victories, and also was the school's golf coach. He was one of the first inductees into the school's athletic Hall of Fame in 1992, going in with the inaugural class.

Phillips also played parts of nine seasons in the major leagues, breaking in with the New York Yankees in 1947. He played one game in 1948 with the Yankees and then spent the 1949 season with the Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates, where he remained through 1952. He ended his career playing for the Detroit Tigers from 1955-57.

Phillips finished with a lifetime .283 batting average and had nine home runs and 101 RBIs in 892 at-bats.

"On behalf of the Clarkson University Athletic Department, I would like to whole-heartedly congratulate Jack on his long-overdue honor," said Clarkson athletic director Steve Yianoukos.

The ceremony for Phillips will take place between games one and two of a Liberty League doubleheader against St. Lawrence University, beginning at approximately 2 p.m.

"Jack's accomplishments on the field, in the coaching box, and as a shaper of student-athletes are well-documented," Yianoukos said. "What separates him is his continuing devotion and affection for a school from which he graduated 65 years ago."

Clarkson will hold a social hour, starting at 6:30 p.m., and dinner at 7 p.m. in Graham Hall.