| Dode Phillips | |
| Birth Date: | 2 January 1900 |
| Birth Place: | Bradley, South Carolina |
| Death Place: | Due West, South Carolina |
| Player Sport1: | Football |
| Player Years2: | 1917–1921 |
| Player Team2: | Erskine |
| Player Positions: | Halfback, Third baseman |
| Player Sport3: | Baseball |
| Player Years4: | 1918–1921 |
| Player Team4: | Erskine |
| Player Years5: | 1923–1924 |
| Player Team5: | Anderson Electricians (Carolina League) |
| Player Years6: | 1925 |
| Player Team6: | Greenwood Emeralds (Carolina League) |
| Player Years7: | 1926 |
| Player Team7: | Reading Keystones (International League) |
| Player Years8: | 1928 |
| Player Team8: | Durham Bulls (Piedmont League) |
| Player Years9: | 1929 |
| Player Team9: | Columbia Comers (South Atlantic League) Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate |
| Coach Years1: | 1922–1925 |
| Coach Team1: | Boys HS (SC) |
| Coach Years2: | 1926–1927 |
| Coach Team2: | Erskine |
| Coach Years3: | 1928–1936 |
| Coach Team3: | Moultrie HS (GA) |
| Coach Years4: | 1939–1941 |
| Coach Team4: | Erskine (assistant) |
| Coach Years5: | 1941 (midseason) |
| Coach Team5: | Erskine |
| Admin Years1: | 1926–1928 |
| Admin Team1: | Erskine |
| Admin Years2: | 1928–1937 |
| Admin Team2: | Moultrie HS (GA) |
| Admin Years3: | 1942–1944 |
| Admin Team3: | Erskine |
| Admin Years4: | 1944–1947 |
| Admin Team4: | SCHSL (director of physical education) |
| Admin Years5: | 1947–1948 |
| Admin Team5: | Erskine |
| Overall Record: | 3–14–1 |
| Awards: | All-Southern (1921) Honorable Mention All-American (1921) Service to Sports Award presented by Atlantic Coast Conference Sportswriters Association (1958) South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame (1960) NAIA Hall of Fame (1965) Erskine Athletics Hall of Fame (1982) |
David Gardiner "Dode" Phillips III (January 2, 1900 – December 29, 1965) was an American football player and coach.[1] He coached high school in Anderson, South Carolina and then his alma mater.[2] He also played several years of minor league baseball before committing to coaching full-time at Moultrie High School in Georgia.[3] Moultrie High won the south Georgia title in 1928.[4] Phillips worked for NBC WFBC as a sports analyst and color commentator in 1937 and 1938 before returning to the sideline as an assistant for Jakie Todd at Erskine. In 1941, Todd was appointed as chief of the state pardon and parole board. Phillips took over and coached Erskine for the final three games of the season.
In 1950, a pool of sportswriters named him the best athlete of the first half of the 20th century in South Carolina.[5] Phillips played for the Erskine Flying Fleet of Erskine College. He was inducted to the school's sports hall of fame.[6] [7] Some writers picked him All-Southern in 1921.[8] Walter Camp included him as an Honorable Mention All-American halfback in 1921. In 1965, just before his death, Phillips was selected to be admitted to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Hall of Fame.[9]