[fluffybear]

from LA Times:

Joe Paterno, the Ivy League-educated coach who transformed sleepy Penn State University into a national football power with an academics-based philosophy only to see his career end abruptly and his legacy tarnished by a child sex abuse scandal involving a former assistant coach, has died. He was 85.

Paterno died Sunday morning in State College, Pa., his family announced.

For more than six decades, Paterno had coached at Penn State after joining Rip Engle's staff in 1950 as a 23-year-old assistant. His career ended late last year less than two weeks after he recorded his 409th career victory, which moved him past former Grambling Coach Eddie Robinson on major college football's all-time list.

Paterno spent his entire career at Penn State, taking over as head coach in 1966. He was a five-time national coach of the year, won two national titles, fielded five unbeaten teams and was the first major college coach to eclipse Bear Bryant's victory record of 323.

Paterno ended his career as the all-time leader in bowl appearances (37) and bowl victories (24) and in 2006 was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He is the only coach to have won all four of college football's major bowls: Rose, Fiesta, Orange and Sugar.

Voted into the same Hall of Fame class, Paterno and Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden spent years jostling for the all-time major college win record.

 

[fireponcoal]

RIP good sir..

 

[FHSPSU67]

Thanks for posting this.
Joe Paterno has meant more to me than anyone. I am proud to say that he has been a very large part of my life since I enrolled at Penn State in 1963 when he was an up and coming quarterback coach. I attended all PSU home games from 1963 through 2007 with the exception of the first 4 home games in 1967 while I was working in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has always been and always will be my greatest hero.

 

[Drucifer]

It is shame a coach under him is always going to be a footnote in his bio.

 

[MysteryMan]

College football won't be the same without him......R.I.P. Joe.

 

[Kevin F]

RIP JoePa

In my opinion, all of the recent stress the media put on him definitely shortened his time here.

May he rest in peace,
Kevin

 

[Stewart Vernon]

RIP JoePa

In my opinion, all of the recent stress the media put on him definitely shortened his time here.

May he rest in peace,
Kevin

I wondered that as well... Since he still wanted to coach just a few months ago... It seems like a very fast decline in health to get to his death so quickly here.

 

[Kevin F]

I wondered that as well... Since he still wanted to coach just a few months ago... It seems like a very fast decline in health to get to his death so quickly here.

Yeah I agree. I guess that's what major stress can do to a man.

Kevin

 

[Lord Vader]

While that may be true, how much is his own fault? Perhaps if he had acted differently years ago he would not have caused all the needless stress he experienced over the last several months.

Those who refer to him as some kind of hero, or a quasi-god or anything other than what he was--an imperfect human being--are being rather foolish. To many, everything he did was negated by his protecting a child rapist who worked under him. How sad.

 

[Lord Vader]

This says it well. Cry for victims, not Paterno.

 

[n3ntj]

The local press around here (near Lancaster) is spending huge amounts of time on Joe Paterno's death. Wall-to-wall coverage as though it was a tragic ending or a national emergency or something. I've lived in PA all of my life and I just don't get it. He was a college football coach. Mention it on the news and spend a few minutes on it and move on. Enough already.

 

[hilmar2k]

Well I for one am hoping he does not "rest in peace".