Penn State Football: The Complete Illustrated History - Hardcover

Wilner, Barry; Rappoport, Ken

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0760335109 ISBN 13: 9780760335109

Publisher: MVP Books, 2009

Synopsis

Every autumn, the town of State College in central Pennsylvania turns blue and white. Thousands of people from all over the state---indeed, from all over the nation---flock to Beaver Stadium to watch the Nittany Lions of Penn State University take on whatever foe is on the schedule. Since the 1880s, Penn State has been an elite force in collegiate football, earning 40 bowl invitations (of which they have won a record 70 percent), securing two national championships, and posting seven perfect seasons. Since 1966, the Nittany Lions have been coached by the legendary Joe Paterno, the winningest coach in Division I college football history.

Penn State Football: The Complete Illustrated History presents an in-depth and entertaining look at the teams, people, and moments that have defined Nittany Lions football for more than 120 years.It includes profiles of key players and coaches and highlights all the great seasons and games. Chronicling, decade by decade, the Nittany Lions’ on-field accomplishments and off-field developments, this lavishly illustrated history is the ultimate celebration of a storied football program.

About this title

Book Description

Penn State Football: The Complete Illustrated History presents an in-depth and entertaining look at the teams, people, and moments that have defined Nittany Lions football for more than 120 years. It includes profiles of key players and coaches and highlights all the great seasons and games. Chronicling, decade by decade, the Nittany Lions’ on-field accomplishments and off-field developments, this lavishly illustrated history is the ultimate celebration of a storied football program.

From the Inside Flap

Every autumn, central Pennsylvania echoes with the roar of tens of thousands of fans cheering on the Nittany Lions of Penn State University. Boasting a history replete with All-Americans, bowl game triumphs, and memorable moments, Penn State football stands apart as one of the most storied programs in all of collegiate sports.

            Penn State's football program originated in the late 1880s, just as the young sport was taking shape on sandlots and fields across the nation. The team from State College, Pennsylvania, debuted with a perfect record in 1887—two wins and no losses in a home-and-away series with in-state rival Bucknell. From there, Penn State grew to establish itself as a dominant football powerhouse.

            In Penn State Football: The Complete Illustrated History, authors Barry Wilner and Ken Rappoport explore the early years of Nittany Lions fortunes and misfortunes on the gridiron and its emergence as a national power in the 1940s and 1950s. The legacy of Penn State football took its most significant turn in 1966, when a 39-year-old assistant coach named Joseph Vincent Paterno took the reins as head coach—a position JoePa has held for forty-two years and counting.

            Despite three perfect seasons and fourteen bowl appearances in fifteen years, a national championship eluded Paterno until the 1980s, when the Lions captured two titles in five years. The decision to join the Big Ten in 1993 catapulted Penn State to a new level of prominence, and the school quickly established itself by winning the conference crown and a Rose Bowl victory in its second season in the league.

            After nearly half a century on the job, Paterno has won more college football games than any other Division I coach in history. He is the embodiment of Penn State football and an icon of the sport. And through it all, JoePa has helped rally the Nittany Nation to come out by the tens of thousands to cheer on the team in the historic confines of Beaver Stadium.

About this edition

• Publisher: MVP Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0760335109
• ISBN 13: 9780760335109
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192