Philip Collier (December 7, 1925 – February 24, 2001) was an American sportswriter who worked in the San Diego area for many years. Along with sports editor Jack Murphy, he was instrumental in bringing Major League Baseball to the city in the form of the expansion team San Diego Padres.[1]
Collier was the sportswriter who Sandy Koufax first told about his decision to retire, during the 1965 season. Koufax, who was close friends with Collier, told him that 1966 would be his final season and requested he keep the news confidential; he called the day before announcing his retirement in a press conference so that Collier could break the story.[4]
When San Diego was awarded the expansion San Diego Padres in 1969, Collier began covering the team, which he would do for 18 seasons. In 1987, he became the national baseball columnist for the Union. He continued to write for the Union-Tribune after its merger with the San Diego Tribune in 1992. He retired from the paper in 1996.[3]
