PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Former West Virginia offensive lineman Rick Phillips, a second-team AP All-American in 1988 when the Mountaineers played for the national championship, died Wednesday after a two-year fight with pancreatis and liver disease.

He served as St. Marys city manager from 2011 until the illness forced him to take leave.

“Lovable guy who was very kind off the field, very tough and physical on the field,” said ex-teammate Dale Wolfley, now coordinator of the WVU Varsity Club. “It really does move me quite a bit, because he was such a good friend for so many years.”

An all-state player at Parkersburg High who blossomed into a 6-foot-4 left tackle in college, Phillips delivered an emotional speech to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes contingent before WVU faced Notre Dame in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl.

“There were probably 2,000 people at the meeting, and that’s who Rick was,” Wolfley said. “He spread his faith and that’s the way he was all the time.”

High school classmate Ed Forshey, who continues to chronicle Parkersburg football for the school’s website, recalled Phillips being a bona-fide recruit even before becoming the third brother to win the statewide Hunt Award.

“You knew he’d be DI without a doubt and you knew he’d go to WVU and you knew he’d start and probably be an All-American,” Forshey said. “He was that good.”

Phillips returned to Parkersburg High as an assistant coach on squads that won Class AAA state championships in 1999, 2001 and 2007. He also worked as the city’s building and grounds superintendent.

For more than a quarter-century after starring on the first West Virginia team to post an undefeated regular season, Phillips remained active with alumni events.

“He was a home-state boy,” Wolfley said, “and lots of people loved him.”