![]() ![]() Paterno remained an assistant coach at Penn State for the next sixteen years. Although he was initially unsure if he should accept the position, he soon fell in love with the people of the community and stayed. In 1949 he led the Brown Bears to an 8-1 record.Īfter graduating from college, Paterno was offered a job as an assistant football coach at Pennsylvania State University. Though he was not an outstanding player, he was quick and very intelligent, able to outwit defenses and able to inspire his teammates to victory. He ended up at Brown University on a football scholarship where he played quarterback. But when he graduated from Brooklyn Prep High School and then spent a year in the military, his focus began to change. Initially Paterno considered -like his father, whom he idolized -practicing law. Kids from the neighborhood would walk into our kitchen, unannounced, and sit in, just to listen." According to Sports Illustrated, "At the dinner table we were allowed to talk about anything. ![]() His parents encouraged friendly debates, and the family spent much of their dinner hours engrossed in heated discussions about one topic or another. Growing up, Paterno spent most of his time either playing touch football or with his nose in a book. The drive and determination of his father rubbed off on Joe. His father worked hard, and eventually obtained his law degree when he was forty years old, while at the same time supporting a family with his full time job. Joseph Vincent Paterno was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 21, 1926, to Italian parents who pressed upon him early the importance of education. ![]() "In an era of college football in which it seems everybody's hand is either in the till or balled up in a fist," writes Rick Reilly in Sports Illustrated, "Paterno sticks out like a clean thumb." Growing Up He instills in every member of his team that being well-rounded supercedes singular successes on the football field. He is a tenured professor, too, and to his players he is like a father, more so than most coaches could even dream of being. Since taking over the head coaching position at Pennsylvania State University in 1966, he has amassed five undefeated seasons, more bowl wins than any coach in college football (including three national championships), and risen to earn the title "the winningest active coach in college football." Paterno has also been voted coach of the year an amazing four times by the American Football Coaches Association.īut he is more than just a coach. With his thick glasses, khaki slacks (always a bit too short), and his Penn State windbreaker, Paterno is one of the most recognizable coaches in this history of football -college or professional. ![]()
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