Joe Paterno's Penn State career

Sports

Joe Paterno's Penn State career

Photos from legendary college football coach Joe Paterno's Penn State career.

Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno, 85, died Sunday, January 22, 2012 after experiencing health complications from lung cancer. He was 85. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I football coach (409). Paterno was diagnosed with cancer in November 2011, days after getting ousted as head coach in the aftermath of the child sex abuse charges against former assistant Jerry Sandusky. - AP

Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno, left, talks with Georgia head coach Vince Dooley prior to the Sugar Bowl game, Saturday, Jan. 1, 1983, at the Superdome in New Orleans. Penn State defeated Georgia 27-23. - AP

While at Penn State as head coach from 1966-2011, Paterno coached five undefeated teams that won major bowl games and, in 2007, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach.

The future coaching legend played quarterback and cornerback at Brown from 1946-49 before becoming an assistant at Penn State from 1950-65, prior to taking the reins as head coach.

Florida State's Bobby Bowden and Paterno were in a longstanding race to see which coaching legend would end up with the most overall wins. Paterno came out on top with 409 and Bowden has 377. 12 of Bowden's wins were vacated by the NCAA and others at South Georgia Junior College are not counted.

The made-for-TV movie "Something For Joey" detailed the special relationship between 1973 Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti (right) and his dying younger brother Joey. Cappelletti played at Penn State and the university (and Paterno, left) were a major part of the film's story.

Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State assistant football coach, is escorted to a police car after being charged with additional counts of sexual abuse involving two more boys, Wednesday, December 7, 2011, in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. The accusations against Sandusky led to Paterno's firing.

In this Oct. 8, 2011, file photo, Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary, left, talks with head coach Joe Paterno during an NCAA college football game against Iowa in State College, Pa. In 2002, State Attorney General Linda Kelly said a graduate assistant, identified by sources familiar with the investigation as McQueary, saw former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually assault a naked boy in a team locker room shower. - AP

Penn State fan Gary Buck of West Grove, Pa., hugs a statue of former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno at Beaver Stadium before the football game between University of Nebraska and Penn State on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 in State College, Pa., following Paterno's firing.

In this photo taken Jan. 12, 2012, Susan Paterno, left, sits with her husband, former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno as he is interviewed at his home in State College, Pa. In his first public comments since being fired two months ago, Paterno told The Washington Post he "didn't know which way to go" after an assistant coach came to him in 200,2 saying he had seen retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing a boy. - AP

Penn State's new football coach, Bill O'Brien, holds a Nittany Lions football helmet after he was introduced during an NCAA college football news conference, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012, in State College, Pa. O'Brien is charged with replacing Paterno and upholding the legendary coach's winning tradition at Penn State.

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Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno, 85, died Sunday, January 22, 2012 after experiencing health complications from lung cancer. He was 85. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I football coach (409). Paterno was diagnosed with cancer in November 2011, days after getting ousted as head coach in the aftermath of the child sex abuse charges against former assistant Jerry Sandusky. - AP

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