Joe Paterno

Joseph Vincent Paterno (/pəˈtɜːrnoʊ/; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, and later athletic director and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2011. With 409 victories, Paterno is the most victorious coach in NCAA FBS history. His career ended with his dismissal from the team in November, 2011 as a result of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. Paterno was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended Brown University, where he played football both ways as the quarterback and a cornerback. Originally planning to be a lawyer, he instead signed on as an assistant football coach at Penn State in 1950, persuaded by his college coach Rip Engle who had taken over as Penn State's head coach. In 1966, Paterno was named as Engle's successor. He soon coached the team to two undefeated regular seasons in 1968 and 1969. The team won two national championships—in 1982 and 1986. Paterno coached five undefeated teams that won major bowl games, and in 2007 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coac