Joe Paterno

Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno (; December 21, 1926 — January 22, 2012) was an American college football coach.  He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011.  Paterno's nickname was "JoePa".

Paterno was an Italian-American who was born and raised in Brooklyn. His team won 409 games with him as coach, so he had the record for the most wins by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) coach. He is the only FBS coach to reach 400 victories. He coached five undefeated teams that won major bowl games. In 2007, was entered the College Football Hall of Fame.

Penn State trustees fired Paterno in the middle of the football season in November 2011. The university was concerned about Paterno's possible responsibility after long-time assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested on child sexual abuse charges.

Paterno died of lung cancer on January 22, 2012.

References

Other websites
 Penn State profile 


Category:1926 births
Category:2012 deaths
Category:American football cornerbacks
Category:American football quarterbacks
Category:Cancer deaths in Pennsylvania
Category:College football coaches
Category:Deaths from lung cancer
Category:Sportspeople from Brooklyn
Category:Writers from New York City