Phillip Fry was a man living in the 20th or 21st century who shared a similar name with Fry, the notable difference in his name being the lack of the J. and the spelling of his possible given name.
As Bender travels back in time to hunt down Fry, he searches for him and in a phone book he founds a list of possible Frys. Outside the phone booth (which he originally thought was a suicide booth) he meets Phillip Fry. But Bender does not recognise him because he is a lot more ugly than Fry.
Frys listed in the phone book
Interestingly, while it appears Phillip is sleeping in the gutter when Bender meets him, he also meets him again at his home, which in New York is quite fancy. Both times, Bender must conclude that he is not the Fry he is searching for.
Trivia
- The spelling "Phillip" is a common Continental European way of spelling Philip.