2009 Male Player: Phil Higgins

Phil Higgins

Softball for Phil Higgins began with one dynamic swing in a national tournament at Southgate, Michigan in 1970 where we swatted a pinch hit walk off home run to help his team finish the tournament in second place. The lesson learned was to take advantage of every opportunity provided.

Since that time, Phil has taken advantage of every door opened and every opportunity to perform at his best with some of the finest softball teams ever assembled. He played for eight seasons with Copper Hearth of Milwaukee from 1970 through 1977 and also played for Slinger Foundry for a few tournaments in 1974 along with Snyder’s in 1976. During this period, the Copper Hearth captured third place at the 1975 USSSA World Tournament and played for Snyder’s, which captured the World Title in 1976.

In 1983, “Flip” played for Steels, which finished second in the men’s major field to Jerry’s Catering. In 1984 and 1985, he took his talents to Lilly Air Systems where he was an NIT All-Star at Salt Lake.

In 1989, he enjoyed his most exciting softball moment as his Joe Black’s team defeated Steels to capture a USSSA World Series berth to Omaha, where the team finished 5th in World Series play.

In 1993, opportunity again came to Phil’s door as he was asked to participate in a charity softball game with a local radio station against singer Michael Bolton’s celebrity team. On that day he hit three home runs and made a huge impression on Bolton. This led to him participating on Bolton’s team against Michael Jordan’s select group of All-Stars at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.

After that, Phil played with Bolton’s group of charity events for seven seasons from 1994 through the 2000 season. Through this opportunity, he was able to meet many celebrities in sports and entertainment such as Magic Johnson, Evander Hollifield, Garth Brooks, Celine Dion, Tom Sellick, Barry Bonds, Joe Morgan, Regis Philbin, Chris Cheliois and Joe DiMaggio. For Phil, this was a very rewarding time in his life, as he was playing a game he loved and doing it for a charity organization that helped so many.

There is little doubt that with a lifetime batting average of over .650 and a home run count well over 500, Phil deserves to be in the Illinois USSSA Hall of Fame, as he not only plays the game, but promotes it through his competitive spirit.