ON THIS DAY: Joe Paterno joins Penn State football staff 74 years ago

May 27, 1950, was a watershed moment in Penn State football history. On this date 74 years ago, a young college graduate accepted an assistant coaching role on the staff of new Nittany Lions head coach Rip Engle. That coach’s name was Joe Paterno. A position originally intended to be filled for one year, Paterno would go on to leave an indelible mark on the Penn State program, the university, and the sport of college football.

Joe Paterno joined Penn State football staff 74 years ago today

Few individuals are as synonymous with a single organization as Joe Paterno is with Penn State football. Paterno’s Nittany Lions coaching career spanned two millennia, six decades, and 12 American presidents.

But every career starts somewhere. For Joe Paterno, that was May 27, 1950, when new Penn State football coach Rip Engle hired him to coach quarterbacks. Of course, Paterno played for Engle at Brown, finishing his career the season prior.

DID YOU KNOW #JoePaterno arrived at #PennState as an assistant football coach 74 years ago today? pic.twitter.com/L9LDhn62t6

— PlaybookMark (@PlaybookMark) May 27, 2024

Originally only planning on staying in State College for one year before heading to law school, Paterno remained on Engle’s staff for 15 seasons, the Nittany Lions going 104–48–4 in that span.

After rising up the ranks, Joe Paterno took over as head coach of Penn State football upon Engle’s retirement in 1966. Forty-five years, 409 wins, two National Championships, and a College Football Hall of Fame induction later, the rest is history.

How should Paterno’s legacy be honored in Happy Valley?

Even now, more than a decade on from his removal from the university in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, the way in which Penn State should, or shouldn’t, honor Joe Paterno and his legacy is still hotly debated.

The issue was ignited in recent months with the public push to rename the Beaver Stadium playing surface in honor of the late coach by some members of the Penn State Board of Trustees. The motion ultimately failed and was blasted by others as a thinly veiled political stunt.

Last fall, the university memorialized Paterno for the first time since his statue outside Beaver Stadium was removed in 2012. In the new wall of honor outside Beaver Stadium, Paterno’s name appears along with the other coaches in Penn State football history. His FBS-leading record of 409-136-3 appears, as well.

Whether this recognition is too much or not enough will likely continue to be debated. As time goes on, fewer generations will be able to tell stories of passing the legendary football coach on the way to class or seeing the iconic thick glasses and rolled-up pants legs on the Beaver Stadium sidelines.

But no matter how much time passes, Joe Paterno’s mark will always be found on the black shoes and basic blues that take the field on Saturdays in the fall.

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