Jim Phelan (basketball)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 19, 1929 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Career information | |
| High school | La Salle (Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania) |
| College | La Salle (1948–1951) |
| NBA draft | 1951 / Round: 8 / Pick: 77th overall |
| Selected by the Philadelphia Warriors | |
| Playing career | 1953–1954 |
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career | 1953–2003 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1953 | Philadelphia Warriors |
| 1954 | Pottstown Packers |
| As coach: | |
| 1953–1954 | Mount St. Mary's (asst.) |
| 1954–2003 | Mount St. Mary's |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
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|
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2008 |
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James Joseph Phelan (born March 19, 1929) is a retired collegiate basketball coach. He is best known for his 49-year coaching career at Mount Saint Mary's University. Phelan was a 1951 graduate of La Salle University and played one season for the Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA. He was famous for wearing a bow tie on the sidelines.
Born in Philadelphia, Phelan graduated from La Salle College High School in 1947 and La Salle University in 1951. From 1951 to 1953, during the Korean War, Phelan served in the United States Marine Corps.
Selected in the eighth round (77th overall) in the 1951 NBA draft, Phelan played in three games as a reserve for the Philadelphia Warriors in 1953. He then played for the Pottstown Packers in the Eastern League.
Phelan coached his entire career at Mount Saint Mary's University. He led the Mountaineers to the 1962 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship. When he retired in 2003, after coaching for 49 years, he had amassed 830 wins (overall record of 830-524) in over 1,300 games in all divisions. In those 49 years, Phelan had 19 teams that reached 20 or more wins in a season. Prior to the announcement of his induction to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in April 2008, Phelan was often noted for having the most victories of any coach not in the Hall of Fame.
He got his 800th win in the Northeast Conference Championship Game on March 1, 1999. He became just the 4th coach in NCAA history to get 800 career wins; currently he sits 14th on the all-time list. On January 19, 1998, he became just the 2nd coach in NCAA history to coach in 1,200 career games. The only other coach to do so prior was Clarence Gaines. Phelan held the record in games coached with 1,354 across all NCAA divisions and is currently 4th on the all-time list; he is behind Phog Allen and tied with Jim Smith for second place in total career seasons coached with 49, though all 49 of Phelan's and Smith's seasons came at one school while Allen coached at four other institutions besides Kansas, where he gained fame.
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