Former Penn State Coach Joe Paterno Has Died at 85

[Anthonyly]

Joe Paterno, the longtime Penn State coach who won more gamesthan anyone in major college football but was fired amid a child sexabuse scandal that scarred his reputation for winning with integrity,died Sunday. He was 85. His family released a statement Sunday morning to announce his death. "Hedied as he lived," the statement said. "He fought hard until the end,www.pumashoesaustralia.net,stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyoneof how blessed his life had been. His ambitions were far reaching, buthe never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them.Hewas a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and hiscommunity." Paterno built his program on the credo "Success withHonor," and he found both. The man known as "JoePa" won 409 games andtook the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl games and two national championships.More than 250 of the players he coached went on to the NFL. Photos and Videos In Memoriam LOOK PHOTOSIn Memoriam: Andy Griffith More Photos and Videos"Hewill go down as the greatest football coach in the history of the game,"Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said after his former team, the FloridaGators, beat Penn State 37-24 in the 2011 Outback Bowl. Paterno'sson Scott said on Nov. 18 that his father was being treated for lungcancer. The cancer was diagnosed during a follow-up visit for abronchial illness. A few weeks after that revelation, Paterno also brokehis pelvis after a fall but did not need surgery. Paterno hadbeen in the hospital since Jan. 13 for observation for what his familyhad called minor complications from his cancer treatments. Not longbefore that, he conducted his only interview since losing his job, withThe Washington Post. Paterno was described as frail then, speakingmostly in a whisper and wearing a wig. The second half of the two-dayinterview was conducted at his bedside. "As the last 61 years haveshown, Joe made an incredible impact,Ray Ban Wayfarer 2150," said the statement from thefamily. "That impact has been felt and appreciated by our family in theform of thousands of letters and well wishes along with countless actsof kindness from people whose lives he touched.It is evident also inthe thousands of successful student athletes who have gone on tomultiply that impact as they spread out across the country." Thefinal days of Paterno's Penn State career were easily the toughest inhis 61 years with the university and 46 seasons as head football coach. Itwas because Paterno was a such a sainted figure — more memorable thanany of his players and one of the best-known coaches in all of sports —that his downfall was so startling. During one breathtaking week inearly November, Paterno was engulfed by a scandal and forced from hisjob, because he failed to go to the police in 2002 when told a young boywas molested inside the football complex. "I didn't know which way to go ... and rather than get in there and make a mistake," he said in the Post interview. JerrySandusky, the former defensive coordinator expected to succeed Paternobefore retiring in 1999, was charged with sexually assaulting 10 boysover 15 years. Two university officials stepped down after they werecharged with perjury following a grand jury investigation of Sandusky.But attention quickly focused on an alleged rape that took place in ashower in the football building,ray ban wayfarer, witnessed by Mike McQueary, a graduateassistant at the time. McQueary testified that he had seenSandusky attacking the child and that he had told Paterno, who waited aday before alerting school authorities. Police were never called and thestate's top cop later said Paterno failed to execute his moralresponsibility by not contacting police. "You know, (McQueary)didn't want to get specific," Paterno said in the Post interview. "Andto be frank with you I don't know that it would have done any good,because I never heard of, of, rape and a man. So I just did what Ithought was best. I talked to people that I thought would be, if therewas a problem, that would be following up on it." On the morningof Nov. 9, Paterno said he would retire following the 2011 season. Healso said he was "absolutely devastated" by the abuse case. "Thisis a tragedy," the coach said. "It is one of the great sorrows of mylife. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more." Butthe university trustees faced a crisis, and in an emergency meeting thatnight, they fired Paterno, effective immediately. Graham Spanier, oneof the longest-serving university presidents in the nation, also wasdismissed. According to Lanny Davis, an attorney retained by thetrustees as an adviser, board vice chairman John Surma regretted havingto tell Paterno the decision over the phone. The university handedthe football team to one of Paterno's assistants, Tom Bradley, who saidPaterno "will go down in history as one of the greatest men, who maybemost of you know as a great football coach." Thick, smoky-lensglasses, rolled up khakis, jet-black sneakers, blue windbreaker —Paterno was easy to spot on the sidelines. His teams were just as easyto spot on the field; their white helmets and classic blue and whiteuniforms had the same old-school look as the coach. Paternobelieved success was not measured entirely on the field. From hisidealistic early days, he had implemented what he called a "grandexperiment" — to graduate more players while maintaining success on thefield. He was a frequent speaker on ethics in sports, a conscience for a world often infiltrated by scandal and shady characters. Histeams consistently ranked among the best in the Big Ten for graduatingplayers. As of 2011, it had 49 academic All-Americans, the third-highestamong schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision. All but two playedunder Paterno. "He teaches us about really just growing up andbeing a man," former linebacker Paul Posluszny, now with the NFL'sJacksonville Jaguars, once said. "Besides the football, he's preparingus to be good men in life." Paterno certainly had detractors, aswell. One former Penn State professor called his high-minded words onacademics a farce. He was criticized for making broad critiques aboutthe wrongs in college football without providing specifics. A formeradministrator said his players often got special treatment compared tonon-athletes. His coaching style often was considered too conservative.Some thought he held on to his job too long. There was a push to movehim out in 2004 but it failed. But the critics were in theminority, and his program was never cited for major NCAA violations.However, the child sexual abuse scandal prompted separate investigationsby the U.S. Department of Education and the NCAA into the school'shandling. Paterno played quarterback and cornerback for BrownUniversity and set a defensive record with 14 career interceptions, adistinction he boasted about to his teams all the way into his 80s. Hegraduated in 1950 with plans to go to law school. He said his fatherhoped he would someday be president. When he was 23, a formercoach at Brown was moving to Penn State to become the head coach andpersuaded Paterno to come with him as an assistant. "I had nointention to coach when I got out of Brown," Paterno said in 2007 atBeaver Stadium in an interview before being inducted into the Hall ofFame. "Come to this hick town? From Brooklyn?" In 1963, he wasoffered a job by the late Al Davis — $18,000, triple his salary at PennState, plus a car to become general manager and coach of the AFL'sOakland Raiders. He said no. Rip Engle retired as Penn State head coachthree years later, and Paterno took over. At the time, the Lionswere considered "Eastern football" — inferior — and Paterno courtednewspaper coverage to raise the team's profile. In 1967, PSU began a30-0-1 streak. But Penn State couldn't get to the top of thepolls. The Lions finished second in 1968 and 1969 despite perfectrecords. They went 12-0 in 1973 and finished fifth. Texas edged them in1969 after President Richard Nixon, impressed with the Longhorns' bowlperformance, declared them No. 1. "I'd like to know," Paterno saidlater, "how could the president know so little about Watergate in 1973,and so much about college football in 1969?" A national titlefinally came in 1982, in a 27-23 win over Georgia at the Sugar Bowl.Penn State won another in 1986 after the Lions picked off VinnyTestaverde five times and beat Miami 14-10 in the Fiesta Bowl. Theyhave made several title runs since then, including a 2005 run to theOrange Bowl and an 11-1 campaign in 2008 that earned them a berth in theRose Bowl, where they lost 37-23 to Southern California. In hislater years, physical ailments wore the old coach down. Paterno was runover on the sideline during a game at Wisconsin in November 2006 andunderwent knee surgery. He hurt his hip in 2008 demonstrating an onsidekick. An intestinal illness and a bad reaction to antibioticsprescribed for dental work slowed him for most of the 2010 season.Paterno began scaling back his speaking engagements that year, endinghis summer caravan of speeches to alumni across the state. Then areceiver bowled over Paterno at practice in August, sending him to thehospital with shoulder and pelvis injuries and consigning him to coachmuch of the season from the press box. "The fact that we've won alot of games is that the good Lord kept me healthy, not because I'mbetter than anybody else," Paterno said two days before he won his 409thgame and passed Eddie Robinson of Grambling State for the most inDivision I. "It's because I've been around a lot longer than anybodyelse." Paterno could be conservative on the field, especially inbig games, relying on the tried-and-true formula of defense, the runninggame and field position. "They've been playing great defense for 45 years," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said in November. Paternoand his wife, Sue, raised five children in State College. Anybody couldtelephone him at his modest ranch home — the same one he appeared infront of on the night he was fired — by looking up "Paterno, Joseph V."in the phone book. He walked to home games and was greeted andwished good luck by fans on the street. Former players paraded throughhis living room for the chance to say hello. But for the most part, hestayed out of the spotlight. Paterno did have a knack for joke. He referred to Twitter, the social media, as "Twittle-do, Twittle-dee." Healso could be abrasive and stubborn, and had his share of run-ins withhis bosses or administrators. And as his legend grew, so did theattention to his on-field decisions, and the questions about when hewould retire. Calls for his retirement reached a crescendo in2004. The next year, Penn State went 11-1 and won the Big Ten. In theOrange Bowl, PSU beat Florida State, whose coach, Bobby Bowden, left theSeminoles after the 2009 season after 34 years and 389 wins. Like many others, he was outlasted by "JoePa."
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