Before the first North American Soccer League briefly soared after the signing of Pelé in 1975, some of the most interesting stories in 1970's soccer in the United States were often found in the college game.
This was exemplified by Howard University in Washington. In 1970, Howard University hired Lincoln Phillips as its coach, a young immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago who was then the goalkeeper and coach for the N.A.S.L.'s Washington Darts. Phillips took a Howard team built around students from the Caribbean to unprecedented success, becoming the first historically black college to win the N.C.A.A. Division championship in 1971.
But there was controversy: Howard was stripped of its title by the N.C.A.A. for player-eligibility violations. Many felt that Howard had been unfairly singled out because the largely white college sports hierarchy was uncomfortable with a team of black players winning the national championship. Phillips retooled Howard and won an N.C.A.A. title again in 1974. Tom Dunmore, editor of the XI Quarterly recently spoke with Phillips about his career in the United States and the lasting impact of Howard soccer.
Q. You were born in Trinidad but you made your career as a goalkeeper and coach in North America. How did you come to the United States and get your start in soccer here?
A. I represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, where we attended a function hosted by the West Indian Students Association. The Trinidadians there inspired me to use my soccer experience to attend a university in Canada or the U.S. The opportunity to pursue both a professional soccer career and education presented itself when a scout from the Baltimore Bays recommended me to the Bays G.M. Clive Toye, and upon signing I made the key stipulation that the Bays assist in enrolling me into college.
Q. After Baltimore, you moved on to the Washington Darts in the N.A.S.L. You quickly became the player-coach of the team age 29 -- how did that come about, and how did you earn the respect of players who were also your peers?
A. I frequently found myself in leadership roles beginning from the time I was in secondary school in Trinidad. My time in the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment as both the physical education officer in charge of developing physical fitness for the service and as captain of the soccer team gave me my first real experience in leading men. So, by the time I earned the opportunity to serve as a player/coach with the Darts, I was ready.
Also, being a goalkeeper provides a player a certain perspective on the game that makes the position uniquely conducive to producing leaders -- more than any other position on the field. Make no mistake, though: on a professional team you're frequently surrounded by other alpha males and my leadership was challenged. This is where education and the ability to deal with people and issues are vital skills for any leader. I always invited any player to sit with me and discuss any aspect of the game, confident that my own understanding of the game was sound as both a player and as someone studying to be an educator. It also helped that I never asked players to do anything that I wouldn't do. Furthermore, being the top goalkeeper in the A.S.L. and N.A.S.L. at the time certainly helped.
Q. Was it a difficult decision to leave the Darts and professional soccer in 1970 and taking on the role of Howard head coach?
A. No, not at all, my decision to coach at the college level at Howard was a no-brainer. My salary on the professional level was miniscule and professional soccer at that time was on its last legs. After helping train the team in 1970, Howard offered me a full-time salary after qualifying for the N.C.A.A. final four in 1970. What made the switch even easier was that I was allowed to go to school free, as I was also pursuing my undergraduate degree. However, this was difficult at times, because I was in a few classes with some of my players. It was a very humbling experience as all of them were A students while I was struggling sometimes with C grades. As a result of such a unique experience, a very serious and lasting bond developed between me and those players that continues to this day.
Q. Howard University won the N.C.A.A. championship in 1971 during your first season in charge -- the first historically black college to do so -- but was then stripped of the title, charged with the use of ineligible players. Forty years later, do you look back at that decision with bitterness?
A. Absolutely not. Fortunately, I usually don't hold grudges. However, I think winning the championship in 1974 brought some catharsis and sense of justice in that we felt that our approach in developing scholar-athletes always followed the spirit of the N.C.A.A. even when we were the targets of some unfair and sometimes hostile situations. Our graduation rate was among the highest in the nation and the players we recruited were very good and serious students. I think over the years, the N.C.A.A. has made better efforts in developing regulations and schools also have compliance officers to help interpret those regulations or situations that may not have a clear cut answer.
Q. Howard found redemption with a second N.C.A.A. title in 1974. What was the key to picking up the pieces after being stripped of the 1971 title?
A. A real sense of purpose and having something to prove was the tip of the proverbial arrow that drove not only the team but the entire Howard University community. There was a sense we were cheated out of a championship and our situation fit in the social milieu at the time with the rise of black consciousness and the community's pride in producing a team that was considered among the best. We wanted to be the best at a sport largely identified and dominated by Europeans.
So, the team was more than an athletic program: it became an extension of the civil rights movement in a way only sports can by achieving a set of objective results and debunking myths that doubted our abilities to be disciplined, organized, and intelligent enough to win against the best the country had to offer. I felt if I could include players from West Africa to compliment the players I had from the Caribbean, we would have an explosive and athletic squad that would be difficult to handle. So, a successful recruiting trip to Nigeria and bringing several players back was one of the first steps taken in preparation.
However, I felt the moment where we invited one of our professors, Dr. Dom Basile Matthews, to address the team was when everything fell into place for the staff and players. In that discussion, Dr. Matthews talked about the atlantic slave trade and the triangular trek slave ships took from Europe to Africa to pick up slaves, to the Americas to drop off the slaves and pick up raw materials to then return to Europe for manufacturing. Dr. Matthews explained that our team represented a reversal of that triangular journey our ancestors endured and the players were engaged in what he called a "Triangle of Blackness," designed to win and achieve as the descendants of those who were historically beaten down in a country where the struggle to be respected and relevant continued. It was some fairly heady stuff that blew everyone away.
Q. What do you think the broader significance of a black team -- mainly made-up of foreign students from the Caribbean and Africa -- achieving the success that Howard did in college soccer proved to be?
A. The gift that kept on giving. While there were a smattering of black players at universities across the country, Howard had long been the institution that fielded fantastic teams made up of players from the Caribbean and Africa. Our success in the 1970s brought an additional spotlight on players from those same regions and really sparked a rush of college coaches to those countries looking for players at a rate never seen before. So, our success helped bring additional opportunities for Caribbean and African players.
Though it is hard to imagine when looking at today's game in Europe, black players from Africa and the Caribbean were never considered good enough to play in Europe in the '60s through the '80s. In many ways, North America -- through the N.A.S.L. and college soccer -- provided a haven for talented black players from Africa and the Caribbean. So I believe Howard had a role on the impact black footballers had on the game in this country.