Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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IRISH ECHOES JIM LEFEBVRE 50 SEPT. 13, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED I n his career at Notre Dame, Knute Rockne often took as much pride in his role as athletics director as he did as head football coach. Whenever and wherever a team was representing Notre Dame, Rockne wanted the student-ath- letes to have the best experience possible. It could be the Carroll Hall football team traveling to play the freshmen at Kalamazoo College. Rockne would see to it that travel plans were sound, referees were hired and the team could concentrate on playing football. In the sports he didn't coach, Rockne saw to it that quality leaders were in place. In basketball, that meant George Keo- gan, who led the Irish hoopsters for 20 years (1923-43), posting 19-1 records in 1925-26 and 1926-27. The latter team has since been retroactively named na- tional collegiate champion. Regarding hockey, Rockne is said to have quipped, "I'm not sure about a sport where you put a club in the hands of an Irishman." But there, too, football play- ers from the Northland like Paul Castner, Hunk Anderson and Jim Crowley were able leaders of the fledgling program. Two coaches who, knowingly or not, emulated Rockne's character will be recognized at the ninth annual Knute Rockne Spirit of Sports Awards Cel- ebration, set for Friday, Sept. 19, at The History Museum of South Bend. Richard "Digger" Phelps, who led Notre Dame men's basketball for 20 sea- sons (1971-91) and guided the program to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 1978 Final Four, will receive the Rockne LIVING LEGEND Award for his career of service and the years since then as an ambassador for Notre Dame. Phelps, son of an undertaker who played basketball at Rider College, had just one season as a college head coach, guiding Fordham to a 26-3 record and No. 9 na- tional ranking, when he was named Notre Dame coach in May 1971. He was just 29. In his second season, he guided Notre Dame to a runner-up finish in the NIT, then reeled off eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances. In January 1974, Phelps was a key figure in one of the greatest moments in Notre Dame athletic history. There was no stronger sports dy- nasty than UCLA basketball of the John Wooden era. Wooden, an Indiana native, played at Purdue and established him- self as a successful high school coach at South Bend Central from 1935-44 and coached Indiana State from 1946-48 before being hired at UCLA. He led the Bruins to NCAA cham- pionships in 1964 and 1965, then an incredible seven straight from 1967 through 1973. The 1973-74 UCLA team figured to contend for an eighth straight title, led by outstanding seniors Bill Walton, Keith Wilkes and Greg Lee. UCLA had last lost a game on Jan. 23, 1971 — 89-82 at No. 9 Notre Dame. Since then, the Bruins won 15 straight to capture the 1971 NCAA title over Vil- lanova, then rolled to 30-0 records in both 1971-72 and 1972-73, defeating Florida State and Memphis State for two more national championships. They cruised to a 13-0 start in 1973-74, including non-conference wins over No. 4 Maryland and No. 2 North Carolina State. The Irish, meanwhile, led by All-American John Shumate and freshman Adrian Dantley, were also per- fect (12-0), having defeated bluebloods Indiana at Assembly Hall and Kentucky at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky. On a winter Saturday in South Bend, Jan. 19, 1974, a raucous crowd jammed into the Athletic & Convocation Center, with millions watching on national TV. The Irish battled throughout, but found themselves trailing 70-59 with 3:32 left. Phelps, noted a report, "was ordering intense defensive pressure, and renewed alertness to get the ball to the man with the open shot." It worked to perfection. The Irish held UCLA scoreless the rest of the way, and reeled off 12 straight points. When Gary Brokaw found Dwight Clay open in the corner with 29 seconds left, Clay con- nected to give Notre Dame its first lead of the game at 71-70 — the final score. The NCAA-record 88-game winning streak was ended. Notre Dame students stormed the court. Six more times in his Notre Dame ca- reer, Phelps led the Irish to upsets of the top-ranked team in the country. Notre Dame gained a reputation for being an opponent you didn't want to face in a big game. The best Irish run came in 1977-78, when freshman Kelly Tripucka — son of Frank Tripucka, a former Irish quar- terback from 1945-48 — dropped in 20 points against DePaul for the Midwest Region Championship and trip to the Fi- nal Four, avenging an earlier one-point overtime loss to the Blue Demons. In the national semifinal in St. Louis, the Irish came up just short against Duke, 90-86. In 20 seasons under Phelps, the Irish won two-thirds of their games, for a record of 393-197. He coached several All-Americans and future NBA play- ers, and ignited the Notre Dame basket- ball fan base as a colorful and quotable leader. That led to a successful career in broadcasting, with a 20-year run as an analyst on ESPN. A LEADER AT EVERY LEVEL Jeff Jackson, who ended a 20-year run as Notre Dame head hockey coach Coaches Digger Phelps And Jeff Jackson: Winning Tenures, Magic Moments Phelps led Notre Dame men's basketball for 20 seasons (1971-91) and guided the program to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 1978 Final Four. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS