James Phelan
James Phelan went 136–87–14 as a head coach, 1920–1947, at Missouri, Purdue, Washington and Saint Mary’s (CA). Share
One season our game records don’t credit to him comes from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1944 at Saint Mary’s (on file under another coach). It’s marked in the table.
- Record
- 136–87–14 career
- Seasons
- 28
- Schools
- 4
- Final AP top 10
- 3 seasons
- Hall of Fame
- 1973 inducted
- Best season
- 1936 7–2–1, No. 5
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Missouri | 7–1 | 2nd | |||
| 1921 | Missouri | 6–2 | ||||
| 1922 | Purdue | 1–5–1 | 10th | |||
| 1923 | Purdue | 2–5–1 | T–8th | |||
| 1924 | Purdue | 5–2 | 5th | |||
| 1925 | Purdue | 3–4–1 | T–9th | |||
| 1926 | Purdue | 5–2–1 | 4th | |||
| 1927 | Purdue | 6–2 | T–4th | |||
| 1928 | Purdue | 5–2–1 | 6th | |||
| 1929 | Purdue | 8–0 | 1st | |||
| 1930 | Washington | 5–4 | 5th | |||
| 1931 | Washington | 5–3–1 | 5th | |||
| 1932 | Washington | 6–2–2 | 4th | |||
| 1933 | Washington | 5–4 | 7th | |||
| 1934 | Washington | 6–1–1 | 3rd | |||
| 1935 | Washington | 5–3 | 6th | |||
| 1936 | Washington | 7–2–1 | 1st | Rose Bowl L | 5 | |
| 1937 | Washington | 7–2–2 | 3rd | Poi W | ||
| 1938 | Washington | 3–5–1 | 6th | |||
| 1939 | Washington | 4–5 | 4th | |||
| 1940 | Washington | 7–2 | 2nd | 10 | ||
| 1941 | Washington | 5–4 | T–2nd | |||
| 1942 | Saint Mary’s (CA) | 6–3–1 | ||||
| 1943 | Saint Mary’s (CA) | 2–5 | ||||
| 1944 | Saint Mary’s * | 0–5 | ||||
| 1945 | Saint Mary’s (CA) | 6–2 | Sugar Bowl L | 7 | ||
| 1946 | Saint Mary’s (CA) | 6–3 | Oil Bowl L | |||
| 1947 | Saint Mary’s (CA) | 3–7 |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Rudy MuchaNo. 4 pick, 1941- Ray FrankowskiConsensus All‑American, 1941
- Herman WedemeyerConsensus All‑American, 1945
Ralph WelchConsensus All‑American, 1929- Max StarcevichConsensus All‑American, 1936
- Dean McAdamsNo. 8 pick, 1941
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 14 | 4–9–1 | 32% |
| Against top-10 teams | 10 | 1–8–1 | 15% |
| Against rivals | 50 | 24–20–6 | 54% |
| Conference games | 137 | 74–51–12 | 58% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 3 | 0–3 | 0% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 91 | 36–41–14 | 47% |
| At home | 128 | 91–28–9 | 75% |
| On the road | 98 | 43–50–5 | 46% |
| At neutral sites | 6 | 2–4 | 33% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 149 | 111–31–7 | 77% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 83 | 25–51–7 | 34% |
His own 232 games on file, 1920–1947, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Jones 1922–1940 | 6–7 | Iowa, USC | 13 | |
| O.E. Hollingbery 1930–1941 | 6–3–3 | Washington State | 12 | |
| Stub Allison 1935–1943 | 4–4–1 | California | 9 | |
| Amos Alonzo Stagg 1922–1943 | 3–6 | Chicago, Pacific | 9 | |
| Glenn Thistlethwaite 1922–1929 | 3–4–1 | Northwestern, Wisconsin | 8 | |
| William Ingram 1923–1934 | 2–5–1 | Indiana, Navy, California | 8 | |
| Tiny Thornhill 1933–1939 | 3–3–1 | Stanford | 7 | |
| Lon Stiner 1934–1941 | 3–4 | Oregon State | 7 | |
| Prink Callison 1932–1937 | 3–2–1 | Oregon | 6 | |
| William Spaulding 1932–1938 | 4–1 | UCLA | 5 |
James Phelan’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Californiaseries | 17 | 7–9–1 |
| USCseries | 13 | 8–5 |
| Washington Stateseries | 12 | 6–3–3 |
| Oregonseries | 12 | 5–6–1 |
| Stanfordseries | 12 | 4–6–2 |
| UCLAseries | 11 | 6–5 |
| Idahoseries | 9 | 8–0–1 |
| Indianaseries | 8 | 5–1–2 |
Other roles
- Team captain, Notre Dame 1917
From each season’s Wikipedia article.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | Missouri | Assistant coach | |
| 1920–21 | Missouri | Head coach | |
| 1922–29 | Purdue | Head coach | |
| 1930–41 | Washington | Head coach | |
| 1942–47 | Saint Mary’s | Head coach | |
| 1942–43 | Saint Mary’s (CA) | Head coach | |
| 1945–47 | Saint Mary’s (CA) | Head coach | |
| 1948–49 | Los Angeles Dons AAFC | Head coach | |
| 1951 | New York Yanks NFL | Head coach | |
| 1952 | Dallas Texans NFL | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included. Head-coaching seasons the infobox leaves out come from our records.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- John MillerMissouri
Assistants who became head coaches
- Noble KizerPurdue
- Mal ElwardGrinnell, Purdue, John Carroll
- Ralph WelchWashington
- Tubby LongAlabama, Texas A&M, Montana State
- Ted ShipkeyArizona State, New Mexico, Montana, Albuquerque AAB / Kirland Field, Personnel Distribution Command
- Joseph SheeketskiHoly Cross, Nevada
- Alex AgaseNorthwestern, Purdue
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Miller | Missouri | 1919 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (7)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noble Kizer | Purdue, 1925–29: assistant coach | Purdue | |
| Mal Elward | Purdue, 1927–29: assistant coach | Grinnell, Purdue, John Carroll | |
| Ralph Welch | Washington, 1930–37, 1939–41: assistant coach | Washington | |
| Tubby Long | Washington, 1930–38: assistant coach | Alabama, Texas A&M, Montana State | |
| Ted Shipkey | Los Angeles Dons, 1948: ends coach | Arizona State, New Mexico, Montana, Albuquerque AAB / Kirland Field, Personnel Distribution Command | |
| Joseph Sheeketski | New York Yanks, 1951: backfield coach | Holy Cross, Nevada | |
| Alex Agase | Dallas Texans, 1952: line coach | Northwestern, Purdue |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.