He was one of the top SEC conference backs and played in five NFL championship games in six seasons with the New York Giants.
In the 1955 season the Commodores played in the Gator Bowl (27–13 win over Auburn), Vanderbilt football's first-ever postseason game.
On defense he cuts down a runner with the sudden slash of a bear, or leaps to snare a pass out of the air with the keenness of the eagle."
Known to his teammates as "Chief" because of his Cherokee Indian ancestry, King was described as an "unusually versatile runner with both power and speed; he is a rugged tackler and a dangerous threat on pass defense; he is a capable passer and a great receiver; he is a powerful punter, a tremendous kick-off man, and a cool kicker on vital extra points."
Playing in an era of dominating defenses, conservative offenses and fewer games, King's 1,717 career-rushing yards would rank him as one of the top Commodores' running backs in history.
Considered "The Greatest Game Played" the Colts defeated the Giants 23–17 in sudden death overtime.
In the 1963 NFL championship game, King played against former Vanderbilt quarterback Bill Wade who scored the Bears only two touchdowns in the Chicago victory.
[3] January 20, 1973, Page 22 The New York Times wrote: "Phil King, a running back for the New York Giants during their glory years from 1958 through 1963 when the team won five Eastern Division titles in the National Football League, died in Memphis Thursday (January 18, 1973) of what was reported as an accidental gunshot wound in the head.
They are in abundance, detailing a career of successes from high school and college right on through the professional game.
"It has nothing to do with the way he put his words together to mesmerize an audience when he explained the virtues of college athletics, 'and what my scholarship meant to me.'
'You know, I can't help but to remember Phil and the recent Sunday where we were getting all that snow,' said Coach Neely.
"'When we would ask him how things were going the next year (1956), Phil would laugh and say, 'the holes are a little smaller than usual, but The Chief can get through.