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Subject: Today.....Irish Revel in Bruins Stunner 31 Years Later, Birthday's, Death....
Written By: RockandRollFan on 01/19/05 at 11:09 am
First and foremost today, January 19th is a special day. Our own Jessica was botn in 1981..and a very good family friend named Dawn Stephensen was born in 1972...she died on this day as well, in 1991 at age 19.
In a historic sports event, today also marks the 31st Anniversary of Notre Dame knocking off The Walton gang from UCLA, thus snapping the Bruins 88 game winning streak...read on!
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Digger Phelps wants Dwight Clay to get out on the court and re-create the shot that ended UCLA’s 88-game winning streak 31 years ago.
“It would still go in,†Clay said confidently. “I replay that shot in my mind and it always goes in.â€Â
Clay and other members of the 1973-74 squad are having their first reunion this weekend. They will attend Sunday’s Kentucky-Notre Dame game, trade life stories and tell some tall tales, but no one will top the story of how the No. 2 Irish beat the top-ranked Bruins on Jan. 19, 1974.
“Digger told us at practice the day before the game that if you win this game, it will be a part of your life for the rest of your life,†John Shumate said. “He was absolutely right.â€Â
Shumate, Clay, Phelps and even former UCLA coach John Wooden say people still ask about that game.
“I’ve been a professional player and coach on all different levels, but the one thing that people say when they see me is, ’Oh, that’s the guy who played for the Notre Dame team that beat UCLA,â€Â’ Shumate said.
It isn’t just that the Irish beat UCLA. It was how they beat them.
Down 70-59 with 3:32 left, Notre Dame used a 12-0 run to beat a UCLA team led by center Bill Walton.
“Definitely that was a surprise to me,†said Wooden, who coached the Bruins from 1948-75. “I didn’t feel anyone playing any place, wherever it might be, could ever score that many points in a row against us.â€Â
While Wooden found it hard to believe, Phelps  then in his third year as coach  never gave up. Shumate said Phelps was the picture of confidence during a timeout.
“He looked at each one of us and said, ’Do you believe? If you don’t believe, then turn and go to the locker room. But if you stay, you believe, because we’re going to beat these guys.â€Â
Phelps was so confident he did something unusual at practice the day before the game.
“We practiced making the big shot and then cutting the nets down,†Shumate said. “He wanted us to see what it would be like.â€Â
Trailing by 11 with just over three minutes left, it seemed unlikely the Irish would be cutting down any nets. But Shumate got the Irish going.
He scored over Walton, then stole the ball and scored on a layup to cut the lead to seven. Then Adrian Dantley scored on a steal and a layup to make it 70-65.
“That’s when I knew we were going to win,†Phelps said.
UCLA’s Keith Wilkes threw a long pass to try to break the Irish press, but Tommy Curtis was called for traveling. Gary Brokaw then hit a pair of jumpers in a 36-second span, cutting the lead to 70-69.
With 45 seconds left, Wilkes drove to the basket and was called for a charge.
Notre Dame wanted Brokaw, who had 25 points, or Shumate, who had 24, to take the next shot. But UCLA double-teamed Brokaw, and Walton had Shumate covered, so Brokaw passed to Clay, who was 1-for-4 for five points. He made the shot from the corner
“That’s the biggest shot of my life,†Clay said. “That’s my claim to fame, my 15 minutes of fame.â€Â
UCLA had a flurry of chances in the final seconds, but couldn’t score.
“The ghost of Rockne and all the greats of the past were hovering over that building,†Shumate said.
Despite all the questions years later, Wooden said the game he remembers best at Notre Dame occurred two years earlier. It was an 82-63 win that raised UCLA’s winning streak to 61 games, breaking the mark of 60 straight wins by San Francisco from 1955-57.
“People don’t know anything about that. It seems kind of funny to me,†he said. “That game was far more important to me.â€Â
For Phelps and Notre Dame, though, the win in 1974 established the Irish as more than just a football school.
Shumate said he knew from the time Phelps had the team practice cutting down the nets the Irish would win.
“You believed that miracles could happen,†he said. “You believed that the impossible could happen because that was what Notre Dame was all about.â€Â
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So Thanks to Notre Dame for the great memory....Happy Birthday, Jessica and Rest In Peace, beautiful Dawn....we miss you :\'(
Subject: Re: Today.....Irish Revel in Bruins Stunner 31 Years Later, Birthday's, Death....
Written By: Indy Gent on 01/19/05 at 11:14 am
:) Happy Birthday, Jessica! :)
How did Dawn die? :\'(
Subject: Re: Today.....Irish Revel in Bruins Stunner 31 Years Later, Birthday's, Death....
Written By: RockandRollFan on 01/19/05 at 11:26 am
:) Happy Birthday, Jessica! :)
How did Dawn die? :\'(
She was killed in a car accident the evening of her birthday. her car slid on black Ice into oncoming traffic and her side of the car was hit by a jeep. We had a friend her was a nurse and was at the hospital when they brough her in. She had a severed aorta so there was nothing they could do. She was also in her 4th month of pregnancy :\'(
Subject: Re: Today.....Irish Revel in Bruins Stunner 31 Years Later, Birthday's, Death....
Written By: Howard on 01/19/05 at 6:07 pm
I hope you feel better Mark. :)
Howard
Subject: Re: Today.....Irish Revel in Bruins Stunner 31 Years Later, Birthday's, Death....
Written By: RockandRollFan on 01/19/05 at 8:27 pm
I hope you feel better Mark. :)
Howard
Thanks again, Howard. Really rough day...with Monday looming :\'(
Subject: Re: Today.....Irish Revel in Bruins Stunner 31 Years Later, Birthday's, Death....
Written By: Howard on 01/20/05 at 4:01 pm
Thanks again, Howard. Really rough day...with Monday looming :\'(
June is just about 5 months away since my brother passed away 10 years ago. :\'(
Howard