Richard “Digger” 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 national ranking, when he was named Notre Dame basketball coach in May of 1971. He was just 29.

In his second season, he had Notre Dame as runner-up in the NIT, then reeled off eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances. In January of 1974, Phelps was a key figure in one of the greatest moments in Notre Dame athletic history.

John Wooden, once coach at South Bend Central, had led UCLA to NCAA championships 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 Villanova, then rolled to 30-0 records and NCAA titles in both 1971-72 and 1972-73. They cruised to a 13-0 start in 1973-74. Irish, meanwhile, led by All-American John Shumate and freshman Adrian Dantley, were also perfect at 12-0, having defeated bluebloods Indiana and Kentucky.

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 connected 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 career, 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. In total, he led the Irish into 14 NCAA tournaments.

The best Irish run came in 1977-78, when freshman Kelly Tripucka, son of a former Irish quarterback, dropped in 20 points against DePaul for a Midwest Region Championship and trip to the Final Four, avenging an earlier one-point OT loss to the Blue Demons. In the national semi-final 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 393-195. He coached several All-Americans and future NBA players and ignited the ND basketball 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.