Brown
football was on the verge of crack-
ing the big time, and he was the man re-
sponsible. He was also developing a
reputation as an innovator with an oer discussing the stipulation
with Harlow, Engle called Schott and ac-
cepted
the job.
Schott and James Milholland, president
of the board of trustees, introduced Penn
State's new head coach at a special lunch-
eon on the :nal day of the previously
scheduled spring practice. Later that af-
ternoon, Engle watched a scrimmage
with Duquesne that was to be the climax
of the spring drills.
The assistants were surprised by how
quiet Engle was. His hair was prematurely
white, which made him look older than his
44 years. But he seemed like a nice man.
A>er the practice game, he asked Bruce if
he could speak to the team. Sure, Bruce
said, a>er all, it's your team now. The play-
ers were excited about meeting their new
coach for the :rst time, and Engle gave a
little pep talk about the future. At the end,
he asked how many of them would come
back for two more weeks to learn his Wing-
T system. They all agreed enthusiastically,
and even some of the assistants were sur-
prised. "We had to be taught the new for-
mation :rst, then we had to teach the
players," O'Hora recalled. "It wasn't easy."
By the end of the day, The Daily Collegian
had published a rare extra edition that in-
cluded a ;amboyant front page saturated
with coverage of Engle's hiring. In an inter-
view with reporter Tom Morgan, Engle ex-
plained how his new players would have to
learn his innovative oer decades
of using the power-running single-wing:
" 'You can call it a simple combination
of the T and single-wing and we always
use a balanced line with it…' He added
that he anticipates little trouble in
'switching the boys over' from Penn
State's unbalanced single-wing… Our
most important problem may be in :nd-
ing the right kind of quarterback.' "
Back in Rhode Island, Engle asked two
of his Brown assistants to join hm at Penn
State but they declined. So, Engle asked
his graduating quarterback, Joseph V. Pa-
terno, if he would postpone law school for
a year and help him get through the :rst
season. The 23-year-old Paterno agreed.
Paterno became Engle's closest con:-
dante. As Penn State slowly regained
prominence in college football in the
H I S T O R Y
NEW IN TOWN Despite
his reservations about
accepting the job,
Engle agreed to be-
come the Lions' head
coach, succeeding Joe
Bedenk, who coached
only one season.
Photo courtesy of the
Pattee and Paterno Li-
brary Archives
