Hall of Fame College Football Coach. Leaving the coal mines for college, he played in the first football game he ever saw for the now defunct Blue Ridge College in Maryland. Graduating from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) in 1930, he started his career coaching high school football at Waynesboro, PA, which led to an opportunity to join the coaching staff at Brown University in 1942. He took over as head coach at Brown in 1944, earning a 28-20-4 record. In 1950, he was selected as the head coach at Penn State. He was only permitted to bring one assistant with him per the terms of his contract. However, as his assistants all had other opportunities, he asked his quarterback from the 1949 Brown season if he would postpone his law studies for a year. That quarterback was Joe Paterno. Engle had a 104-48-4 record at Penn State from 1950-1965, including four straight bowl appearances, three bowl wins, and three Lambert trophies, the symbol of Eastern football supremacy. He is largely regarded as the person who put Penn State football on the national map, though that process would be cemented by his protege Paterno in the following years. Engle was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and lived to see his Lions lift their first National Championship in 1982.
Hall of Fame College Football Coach. Leaving the coal mines for college, he played in the first football game he ever saw for the now defunct Blue Ridge College in Maryland. Graduating from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) in 1930, he started his career coaching high school football at Waynesboro, PA, which led to an opportunity to join the coaching staff at Brown University in 1942. He took over as head coach at Brown in 1944, earning a 28-20-4 record. In 1950, he was selected as the head coach at Penn State. He was only permitted to bring one assistant with him per the terms of his contract. However, as his assistants all had other opportunities, he asked his quarterback from the 1949 Brown season if he would postpone his law studies for a year. That quarterback was Joe Paterno. Engle had a 104-48-4 record at Penn State from 1950-1965, including four straight bowl appearances, three bowl wins, and three Lambert trophies, the symbol of Eastern football supremacy. He is largely regarded as the person who put Penn State football on the national map, though that process would be cemented by his protege Paterno in the following years. Engle was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and lived to see his Lions lift their first National Championship in 1982.
Bio by: Kenneth Gilbert
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