We’ve already shown you the first mention of Joe Paterno in the New York Times, an article about Brooklyn Prep beating Poly Prep, but we’ve found some more neat items from the archives.

The Daily Collegian reported on May 27, 1950 that Joe Paterno, who had been Brown’s quarterback for two years, would be joining the football team as an assistant coach. The article ran on page 3. The picture to the right accompanied the article.

Here’s one of our favorite parts of the article.

He has been hailed as the “smartest quarterback Brown had in the past five or six years” by Barney Madden, veteran sports editor of the Providence Journal.

Paterno is “the guy who made Brown go” Madden said. “You’ll like Paterno,” he added, “and he’ll be a big help to Rip in the changeover to the ‘T.'”

Madden thought we would like Paterno, but he had no idea just how hard Penn State would fall for the Brown-educated Brooklynite. Interestingly, the New York Times ran a small AP article on that same day about Paterno’s new position.

On February 20, 1966, the New York Times reported that Joe Paterno would succeed then Penn State head coach Charles “Rip” Engle when he retired in July.

In Paterno’s first interview with the NYT as the presumptive head coach (or the head coach elect?), he set the tone for the rest of his career.

Paterno said he regarded his new assignment “as the best coaching job in the country.”

“We are all part of a great football tradition,” he said. “A winning tradition started 27 years ago by Coach Bob Higgins and continued under Engle. We have a great responsibility to carry on this legacy of success.”

Who knew that in 42 years we would be celebrating the coach’s 82nd birthday while preparing for his 35th bowl game.