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PENN STATE FOOTBALL 2014
Hugo Bezdek
Charles A. “Rip” Engle
Bill O’Brien
1918-29
1950-65
2012-13
Hugo Bezdek, a native of Prague, Czechoslovakia, posted a 65-30-11 record in 12 seasons (1918-29) as head coach, including consecutive undefeated seasons (1920-21). He also served as athletic director from 1918-36. Bezdek gained All-American status at Chicago, where he was a fullback in football and second baseman in baseball. His collegiate coaching experience included head jobs at Oregon (1906, 13-17), where his team defeated Pennsylvania, 14-0, in the 1917 Rose Bowl; and Arkansas (1908-12). He also managed the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball club (1917-19) and was head coach of the Cleveland Rams (1937-38). Bezdek, who died in 1952, was named to the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 and the Helms Foundation College Hall of Fame in 1960.
“Rip” Engle achieved national prominence as Penn State’s 13th head coach, compiling a record of 104-48-4 over 16 seasons (1950-65). His teams won three of four bowl games and the Lambert Trophy three times. A native of Salisbury, Pa., Engle was a four-sport standout at Western Maryland, graduating in 1930. He compiled an 86-17-5 record in 11 seasons at Waynesboro (Pa.) High School, before joining the staff at Brown in 1942. He was named head coach in 1944 and led the Bears until coming to Penn State in 1950. Engle won the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award for his contributions to football and was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1974. Following his retirement, he lived in State College, Pa., until his death on March 7, 1983.
Joe Paterno
Bob Higgins 1930-48 Bob Higgins served 19 years as head coach, compiling a record of 91-57-11, including an unbeaten season in 1947. A native of Corning, N.Y., he entered Penn State in 1914 and became one of only five players in school history to letter five years. He served as captain of the team as a senior when he was named to the 1919 Walter Camp All-American team. He also lettered in baseball, boxing and wrestling. Following two years of professional football with the Canton Bulldogs, he began his coaching career, which included stops at West Virginia Wesleyan and Washington University in St. Louis. He joined the Penn State staff in 1928 as an assistant coach. Higgins, who died in 1969, was named to the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.
Joe Bedenk 1949
1966-2011 An assistant coach on Rip Engle’s staff for 16 years, Joe Paterno was named Penn State’s 14th head coach on February 19, 1966. Paterno was the Nittany Lions’ head coach for 46 years, the longest tenure by a major college coach at one institution, and a member of the Lions’ coaching staff for an unprecedented 62 years. He was among the first three active coaches to be inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame, in 2007. Paterno was the winningest coach in major college football history, compiling a 409-136-3 on-field career record (74.9). He led Penn State to national championships in 1982 and 1986, Big Ten on-field titles in 1994, 2005 and 2008 and seven unbeaten, untied regular-seasons. Creator of “The Grand Experiment,” his teams annually were among the national leaders in graduation rates and 47 of the student-athletes who played under his direction earned Academic All-America honors. Paterno passed away on January 22, 2012.
James Franklin
171
2014James Franklin was named Penn State’s 16th head coach on January 11, 2014. Franklin daily reinforces the four core values for the program to return to national championship contention and “Dominate The State.” A native of Langhorne, Pa., Franklin led Vanderbilt University to unprecedented success from 2011-13 as head coach, including consecutive nine-win seasons and bowl wins in 2012 and ‘13 and back-to-back Top 25 finishes, all for the first time in Vanderbilt history. He was a two-time All-PSAC quarterback at East Stroudsburg, where he set or tied 23 school records. He graduated in 1995 and has been on the sidelines every season since, with 19 of his 20 years in college football. Franklin also spent one year as an assistant coach with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers.
PENN STATE COACHES’ RECORDS Season(s)
Coach
Won Lost Tied Pct.
1892-95 George Hoskins 17 4 4 82.6 1896-98 Dr. Samuel Newton 12 14 0 46.2 1899 Sam Boyle 4 6 1 40.9 1900-02 Pop Golden 16 12 1 56.9 1903 Dan Reed 5 3 0 62.5 1904-08 Tom Fennell 33 17 1 65.7 1909, 11-14 Bill Hollenback 28 9 4 73.2 1910 Jack Hollenback 5 2 1 68.8 1915-17 Dick Harlow 20 8 0 71.4 1918-29 Hugo Bezdek 65 30 11 66.5 1930-48 Bob Higgins 91 57 11 60.7 1949 Joe Bedenk 5 4 0 55.6 1950-65 Rip Engle 104 48 4 67.9 1966-2011 Joe Paterno *298 136 3 68.5 2011 (Interim, 4 games) Tom Bradley **0 3 0 0.0 2012-13 Bill O’Brien 15 9 0 62.5 *Wins (111) from 1998-2011 vacated by NCAA; **1 win in 2011 vacated by NCAA.
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Joe Bedenk led Penn State to a record of 5-4 in his only season as head coach. A 1924 Penn State graduate from Williamsport, Pa., he lettered three years at guard and captained the 1923 squad. He also served as baseball coach, compiling a record of 410-161-6 from 1931-62. Nine of his baseball teams played in the NCAA Tournament and three appeared in the College World Series, including 1957, when the Nittany Lions placed second. Bedenk was elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966 and was one of the founders of the American Association of College Baseball Coaches. He lived in State College, Pa., following his retirement in 1963, until his death in 1978.
Bill O’Brien was named the Nittany Lions’ 15th head coach on January 6, 2012 and quickly established his vision and continued the program’s athletic and academic success during the most challenging period in the University’s history. Amidst an unprecedented situation in college athletics, O’Brien’s workethic and no-nonsense approach guided the team to two of the most rewarding seasons in history. The Nittany Lions posted records of 8-4 and 7-5 during his two seasons, with a 10-6 Big Ten record, including a 6-2 mark in 2012. O’Brien’s eight wins in 2012 were the most by a first-year coach in school history and led to numerous honors, including Bear Bryant and ESPN Coach-of-the-Year and the Maxwell Football Club Collegiate Coach-of-the-Year. He also was the Big Ten Dave McClain Coach-of-the-Year. O’Brien came to Penn State after helping the New England Patriots to two Super Bowls from 2007-11, serving as quarterbacks coach the last three years. O’Brien was named head coach of the NFL’s Houston Texans on January 3, 2014.