Richie Phillips, 72, former umpires union chief dies

Richie Phillips, 72, of Berwyn, a lawyer, businessman, and head of the former Major League Umpires Association for two decades until a failed bargaining strategy led to his ouster and the formation of another union, died of cardiac arrest Friday at his second home in Cape May.

The combative Mr. Phillips liked to tell friends how at age 13, he organized the altar boys at Our Lady of Angels in West Philadelphia and went out on strike in a spat over the doling out of wedding tips.

"OK, keep the money," the parish priest finally agreed, according to the story. The incident foreshadowed his career, said his daughter Stephanie.

After graduating Villanova Law School in 1966, Mr. Phillips spent 18 months in the Philadelphia Public Defender's Office, followed by a high-profile stint in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office as chief of its homicide and organized-crime units.

But he found himself bitten by the sports-advocacy bug in 1970, when his friend Howard Porter, a future NBA star, asked him to negotiate a contract with the Chicago Bulls.

The $1.5 million contract he procured for Porter was large for that era and opened the door to multimillion player contracts negotiated by lawyers rather than players' agents.

Based on his success with Porter, Mr. Phillips opened a private practice. "He had immediately found his second calling," his family said.

In 1976, he helped organize the NBA referees, forcing the league to recognize them as a collective-bargaining unit. A year later, he won pay hikes and improved working conditions after a threatened strike during the playoffs. From 1976 to 1984 he represented the National Association of Basketball Referees, helping them win respect, he said.

In his most controversial role, in 1978 Mr. Phillips became general counsel and executive director of the Major League Umpires Association.

Mr. Phillips racked up gains in wages and benefits for the umpires, using work stoppages in 1978, 1979, and 1984, 1991, and 1995. "Let's face it, if we hadn't had somebody like Richie back then, do you think anyone would have listened to us?" a retired umpire told The Inquirer in 1999. "We needed and wanted someone to get in baseball's face. That's Richie's strong suit."

But the bare-fisted tactics backfired when he urged the umpires to resign effective Sept. 2, 1999, in a fight over restructuring the umpiring system.

Baseball accepted the resignations of 42 of the more than 50 umpires who signed resignation letters. The union pressed for reinstatement, but 22 were out, replaced by minor-league umpires. Insurgent umpires threw out Mr. Phillips along with his union and started a new one.

"It was asinine," umpire Bob Davidson told the New York Times in 2004. "The whole strategy was horrendous. We made a mistake. We were a victim of our success with Richie Phillips. We had always prevailed because we stuck together. I think the guys who broke away from the union did the correct thing. They saw this was a strategy that was going to fail."

Mr. Phillips stopped talking to the press. "He never minded being the villain as long as he had a solid membership behind him," a former umpire told The Inquirer in 1999.

Mr. Phillips found a third calling as chairman of Pilot Air Freight in Lima, Delaware County.

Mr. Phillips also represented the artist LeRoy Neiman and the Horsemen's Benevolent Protective Association. He was attorney for the 76ers and the Golden State Warriors, and many sports stars. He also started Philadelphia Sports magazine.

Growing up in West Philadelphia, Richard G. Phillips attended St. Joseph's Prep, graduated from St. Thomas More, and earned his undergraduate degree from Villanova in 1962. A walk-on to the football team, the hard-nosed offensive lineman eventually earned a scholarship.

Though only a reserve, he wasn't afraid to speak before a big game, a former teammate told The Inquirer in 1999.

"We were going to play Rutgers when they had Alex Kroll and a pretty good team," the teammate recalled. "In the locker room before the game, Richie told [the coach] to sit down. He gave this great speech, telling us there was no way we were going to lose. And we won."

In 1964, he married Ellen Harrell. They had four children.

Mr. Phillips is survived by his wife, sons Richard and Tony; daughters Connie Anne and Stephanie; and a sister.

A viewing will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 6, at D'Anjolell Funeral Memorial Home, 2811 West Chester Pike, Broomall. A Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Friday, June 7, at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, 1723 Race St. Burial is private.

Contributions may be made to Melmark, 2600 Wayland Rd., Berwyn, Pa. 19312.