Tuesday, Dec. 21, is Joe Paterno’s 84th birthday.
Here are 83 additional factoids about the Penn State football coach:
Joe was 82 when he got a new hip.
He is 30,681 days old.
80 calories from fat (150 calories overall) are in a single serving of Peachy Paterno ice cream.
70-79
Jan. 1, 1979, is the most painful date of his career, a 14-7 loss to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
He has coached 78 first team All-Americans; the latest is Stefen Wisniewski.
His current salary from Penn State is $1,109,977.
Joe’s 100th victory, 41-20, over N.C. State came on Nov. 6, 1976.
His all-time winning percentage is .750.
With the firing of Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen, there have been 874 head coaching changes in Division I-A football since Paterno became head coach.
In his 1973 Penn State commencement address, he said, “Success without honor is an unseasoned dish. It will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good.”
Following the 1972 season, he turned down a $1.25 million offer to coach the NFL’s New England Patriots.
In 1971, Fran Ganter graduated; he has been with Joe for 44 years as a player, coach and administrator, longer than any other Penn Stater.
The Lions scored 70 points twice, surpassed only by a highest-ever 81 vs. Cincinnati in 1991.
60-69
Joe has coached 694 games as a Penn State assistant and head coach.
Joe’s bowl winning percentage is .680 (with a 24-11-1 record), best among coaches of 15 bowl games or more.
Paterno’s most important game as head coach was on Sept. 29, 1967, a 17-8 victory at Miami (Fla.): “I had to either prove myself or, well, there was no use prolonging it.”
Paterno has coached in 66 different stadiums.
The final season for Paterno’s mentor, Rip Engle, was in 1965 (5-5, 104-48-4 overall).
64 years ago he was playing basketball for Brown, earning varsity letters for the 1947-48 and 1948-49 seasons.
The most passes caught by a Nittany Lion in a season is 63: O.J. McDuffie (1992) and Bobby Engram (1995).
Suzanne Pohland graduated from Penn State and married Joe in 1962.
Joe has been at Penn State for 61 years.
Joe was 60 at the time of his second national championship, Jan. 2, 1987, a 14-10 victory over Miami (Fla.) in the Fiesta Bowl.
50-59
There were 59 students in the fall semester Penn State Comm 497G course: “Joe Paterno, Communications & The Media”
There have been 58 Penn State letter-winners whose name starts with an “A” — 49 of whom have played for Paterno.
Quarterback Richie Lucas came off the bench to win Penn State’s Oct. 26, 1957, game against Syracuse, 20-12. Two years later, Lucas finished second in the Heisman voting. In addition to Lucas, Paterno’s QB star pupils as an assistant were Tony Rados, Milt Plum, Pete Liske and Galen Hall.
Joe was 56 at the time of his first national championship, Jan. 1, 1983, a 27-23 victory over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
The average graduation rate of FBS teams is 55 percent, according to a 2009 NCAA study; Penn State’s is 89 percent.
54 Nittany Lions have run for 100 yards in a single game under Paterno.
Joe has had 53 losses in Beaver Stadium, against 226 wins.
Penn State ran for 526 rushing yards against Maryland in 1993, a Penn State-high in Paterno’s tenure.
51,000 images of “Joe Paterno Penn State” can be found on Google in .46 seconds.
Paterno arrived at Penn State in 1950.
41-49
$4.99 is the cost of a Joe Paterno photo on Amazon.com.
The Nittany Lions had 48 penalties in 2010, third-lowest in the country.
Joe has had 47 total Academic All-Americans as a head coach.
Paterno served in the military in Korea as a 19-year-old in 1946.
He has been Penn State’s head coach for 45 seasons.
The 4-4 defensive scheme was Paterno’s 1960s innovation.
Daryll Clark had 43 career TD passes, a Penn State record.
$42.99 is the cost of a cardboard stand-up Joe Paterno.
Paterno teams have had 41 shutouts, the latest a 24-0 effort against Kent State in 2010.
Sophomore receiver Devon Smith can run 40 yards in 4.19 seconds.
31-39
Paterno’s largest losing point differential is 39 points, 45-6 at Ohio State in 2000.
Joe has had 38 different assistant coaches.
Paterno has been to 37 bowl games, counting the 2011 Outback Bowl.
Joe’s jersey number at Brown was 36.
35 Paterno teams have been ranked in the final Top 25.
He has coached 34 first-team Academic All-Americans, including 2010 honorees Chris Colasanti, Pete Massaro and Stefen Wisniewski.
33 of Paterno’s players were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Loyal assistant coach Tom Bradley has coached for 32 years at Penn State.
The Lions had a 31-game unbeaten streak from 1967-69.
30 years ago No. 10 Penn State beat No. 14 Ohio State, 31-19, in the Dec. 26, 1980, Fiesta Bowl.
20-29
Penn State beat Ohio State 29-27 on Oct. 27, 2001, in an 18-point comeback that led to Paterno’s 324th win.
Paterno has coached 28 games against SEC opponents, with a 14-14 record.
Joe’s teams have beaten Temple 27 times, the most victories against a single team.
Paterno has coached 26 father-son combinations.
This is the Outback Bowl’s 25th anniversary; PSU has won three times in that postseason game.
Paterno has won 24 Lambert Trophies.
Under Joe, the Lions have had 23 finishes in the Top 10.
John Cappelletti, Penn State’s only Heisman Trophy winner, wore No. 22.
The Nittany Lions overcame a 21-point deficit against Northwestern on Nov. 6, 2010, for Paterno’s 400th victory.
Paterno’s starting salary as head coach in 1966 was $20,000.
10-19
The career interception record for a Penn Stater is 19, held by Neal Smith (Joe holds a share of Brown’s interception record, with 14).
Paterno was born on 18th Street in Brooklyn on Dec. 21, 1926.
Penn State has played in 17 bowl games in Florida (9-7-1) under Paterno.
Joe spent 16 years as a Penn State assistant coach under Rip Engle.
A 15-7 win over Maryland on Sept. 17, 1966, was his first.
Paterno was named Penn State’s 14th head coach on Feb. 16, 1966.
Joe has had 13 first-team All-American linebackers.
He’s had three 12-0 seasons – 1973, 1986 and 1994.
He’s had two 11-0 seasons – 1968 and 1969.
Penn State won Big Ten championships in 1994, 2005 and 2008.
Zero – 9
Joe and wife Sue have 9 granddaughters and 8 grandsons.
Paterno has coached 8 College Football Hall of Famers – John Cappelletti, Keith Dorney, Jack Ham, Ted Kwalick, Lydell Mitchell, Dennis Onkotz, Mike Reid and Curt Warner.
He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
Penn State ranks 6th nationally in all-time wins, with 818 – Joe’s been on the sidelines for 505 (61.7 percent).
Joe and wife Sue have 5 children — Diana, Mary Kay, David, Jay and Scott.
The Paternos have donated $4 million to Penn State.
Only 3 of his 538 games as head coach have ended in ties.
Paterno has won 2 national titles, in 1982 and 1986.
He ranks 1st among major college coaches, with 401 victories.
Chance of a forthcoming retirement announcement — zero.
