Wayne Phillips, Class of 1956, has earned his way into the Athletic Hall of Fame both as a Coe coach and competitor. He came to Coe from Dubuque and won Most Valuable Player honors as a freshman....so we knew he was interested. He starred in football and as a senior he was captain of the 1955 Midwest Conference champions. He won All-Conference and Little All-America honors. His present day teams still haven't beaten his Coe punt return record of 94 yards. In track he was conference champion in the 220 yard dash.
After military service Coach Phillips entered coaching as a life's work and started his career back home at Dubuque high school. He broadened his knowledge of football with short terms on the football staffs at University of lowa, Coe, and University of California. For seven years he coached at Clinton high school, where his team made Iowa's Top Ten three times.
In 1971 Wayne Phillips returned to his alma mater as head football and track coach. His football squad won the Midwest Conference title in 1973 and again in 1974. Going into this 1977 season his coaching record was 33 wins and 21 losses, and those 33 wins account for ten percent of Coe's all-time total of 333 wins.
But Wayne's most enviable coaching record is in outdoor track, a sport in which his team has won the conference championship six years in a row, or every year that he has been on the Coe coaching staff. In fact, Coe also won the conference indoor track title the first time an official meet was held this year.
As a teammate, a friend, and an underpaid assistant coach, I enjoy this chance to honor Wayne Phillips by presenting him for induction into the Coe Athletic Hall of Fame.
