Penn State Legend Joe Paterno Dies

(Newsroom America) -- Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, who guided his teams to more major college wins than anyone else over his more than four decades as head coach of the Nitanny Lions, died Sunday of lung cancer at a hospital in State College, Pa. He was 85.

Paterno, who was fired last fall amid a child sex scandal involving one of his assistant coaches, had been under treatment for the cancer, but officials at Mount Nittany Medical Center said the disease had spread.

"His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled. He died as he lived," said a statement released by his family. "He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community."

Hospital officials said Paterno died at 9:25 a.m. Sunday of "metastatic small cell carcinoma of the lung." Metastatic means the cancer had spread to other parts of his body.

His son said in November he had been diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer after seeking medical treatment for a bronchial illness.

Known endearingly by fans and players alike as "JoePa," Paterno amassed 409 victories and took his teams to 37 bowl appearances and two national championships. Of the players he coached, 250 of them went on to NFL careers.

"He will go down as the greatest football coach in the history of the game," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said after the Florida Gators, his former team, beat Penn State 37-24 in the 2011 Outback Bowl.

Paterno had been in the hospital since Jan. 13 for observation for what his family had said were minor complications from his cancer treatment.

JoePa spent 46 seasons at Penn State.

"As the last 61 years have shown, Joe made an incredible impact," said the family's statement. "That impact has been felt and appreciated by our family in the form of thousands of letters and well wishes along with countless acts of kindness from people whose lives he touched. It is evident also in the thousands of successful student athletes who have gone on to multiply that impact as they spread out across the country."

But his final season was, without doubt, his most challenging, as he was swept up in a scandal involving his assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky.

The the former defensive coordinator expected to succeed Paterno before retiring in 1999, Sandusky has been charged with sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years. Most of the attention quickly focused on an alleged rape of a young boy in the shower room of the football facility that was witnessed by Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant at the time.

McQueary said he informed Paterno of the incident, who then waited a day before alerting university officials. Police were never called regarding the incident, leading the state's top law enforcement official to chastise Paterno.

For his part, the late coach defended his actions.

"You know, (McQueary) didn't want to get specific," he told the Washington Post in his only interview after losing his job. "And to be frank with you I don't know that it would have done any good, because I never heard of, of, rape and a man. So I just did what I thought was best. I talked to people that I thought would be, if there was a problem, that would be following up on it."

© 2012 Newsroom America.

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