James Phelan

Who was James Phelan?

James Michael "Jimmy" Phelan was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at the University of Missouri, Purdue University, the University of Washington, and Saint Mary's College of California, compiling a career college football record of 137–87–14. Phelan also coached the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference from 1948 to 1949 and the Dallas Texans of the National Football League in 1952, tallying a professional football coaching record of 12–26. In addition, he was the head basketball coach at Saint Mary's for two seasons during World War II, where he amassed a record 10–11. Phelan played football as a quarterback at the University of Notre Dame from 1915 to 1917. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1973.