Joe Paterno: An All American Football Marvel

Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno often refereed to as "JoePa" was an all American football legend that coached the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2011. Born on December 21st, 1926 in Brooklyn New york to Florence de LaSalle Cafiero, who was a homemaker, and Angelo Lafayette Paterno, a law clerk, Joe would one day rise to fame as one of the most prolific coaches of all time. Joe attended Brown University with his tuition sully paid for and also served in the army for a short time. While attending Brown University, Joe joined the football team and played several positions including quarterback and comeback. Being of Italian ancestry, Paterno often referenced himself as a "Guy with a distinct accent."

In his career, Paterno became increasingly popular and gained immense respect amongst his awards  such as the Coach of the Year for 1994, 2005, and 2008 and his former spot under the NCAA for having the most wins. he was asked to work for numerous teams in the NFL such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots, but declined those offers to stay at Penn State. His reputation in the late 2000's took a spin for the worse after decades of perseverance. 

After the child sex abuse scandal involving his former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky broke in full in November of 2011, Paterno announced to the public that he would retire at the end of the current season however, officials decided to immediately fire him. Joe died on January 22, 2012 at the age of 85 just shy of two months after being fired. His reputation amongst many perspective alumni and family remained the same, but his professional brand started to tarnish after details of the case suggested that he withdrew from telling officials about Sandusky's whereabouts. Joe's Son Jay Paterno is currently running for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania seeking democratic nominations for the May 20th 2014 ballots. Above all, Joe Paterno will forever be immortalized as one of the most inspirational and talented coaches of American Football History.

Below is a video in tribute to Joe Paterno by ESPN sports.

Bryan.Womack@snhu.edu