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Paterno’s Run to Fame Began in Brooklyn
BY BERNIE BEGLANE
“It’s been so great to be a part of college football.”
Joe Paterno was at the microphone of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame ceremonies at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel a week ago Tuesday.
One year after he was voted into the Hall of Fame, he was finally inducted.
A broken leg, suffered when two of his Nittany Lions ran into him during a game last season, caused the postponement.
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PATERNO ON THE LEAD: Joe Paterno, the longtime coach of Penn State football, leads the Nittany Lions onto the field of competition. He was recently inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame during an awards dinner in Manhattan. |
And Joe Pa, as he is fondly nicknamed, was late for the press conference this time.
Jokingly, Paterno, who grew up in St. Edmund’s parish, Sheepshead Bay, stated, “I apologize for being one year and 20 minutes late.”
After graduating from St. Edmund’s Grammar School, Joe went to Brooklyn Prep, the now-closed Jesuit Fathers’ high school.
Brown University was the next stop for Paterno who played for Rip Engel. And when Rip was hired at Penn State, he brought Joe with him as an assistant coach.
And Joe has been at it ever since.
Second Winningest Coach
The second-winningest coach in the history of major college football, Paterno will complete his 41st season at Penn State in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 19 against Texas A&M.
No other major college coach has been at one school longer and his 371 career wins are second only to Bobby Bowden (373) of Florida State.
Bowden was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.
Joe initially began coaching after graduating from Brown to save up to attend law school at Boston University.
“I only started coaching to save some money to pay off some debt, and then I got hooked,” Paterno said
When Joe called his parents to tell them he had found his calling, his mom wasn’t too pleased.
“My mom said, ‘What did you go to college for?’” Paterno recalled, “My dad said, ‘Whatever you do, have an impact.’ I think he’d be very proud.”
What began as a whim, turned into a legacy. Paterno not only won two national championships, but also had five undefeated seasons and 22 bowl wins.
“Remember what we shared in football,” Paterno added.
“We’ve been involved in the greatest game and greatest experience out there. We’re so lucky.
“I am a Hall of Famer not because I’m better than anyone else, but because I’m lucky.”
Doug Flutie, 1984 Heisman Trophy recipient from Boston College, joined Paterno as an inductee into the Hall of Fame.
As did Ahmad Rashad, a former standout at Oregon and now a television commentator.
Chris Zorich, who played defensive tackle for Notre Dame, 1988-90, was the youngest member of the induction class.
The rest of the new Hall of Famers were: Oklahoma center Tom Brahaney; Michigan defensive back Dave Brown; Clemson linebacker Jeff Davis; Texas defensive back Johnnie Johnson; Ohio State quarterback Rex Kern.
Also, Indiana running back, Anthony Thompson; Houston defensive tackle Wilson Whitley; Dartmouth linebacker Reggie Williams; and Southern California linebacker Richard Wood.
Former Central Michigan coach Herb Deromedi, who led the Chippewas to 14 winning seasons from 1978-83, was the other coach inducted.
Lest we forget, Joe, while in the Big Apple for the ceremonies, intended to take his children back to the old neighborhood in St. Edmund’s.
“Too many things were going on,” concluded Paterno. “I guess you could say we ran out of time.”
Memory of Wagner’s Sports Information Director Lives On!
By Bernie Beglane
Bob Balut died at the much too early age of 32 last March after a long battle with colon cancer.
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Bob Balut |
However, the memory of the former sports information director of Wagner College who became an official of the Northeast Conference lives on.
As was evidenced when the Staten Island school played host to St. Francis College in a Northeast Conference game last Saturday afternoon.
A SRO crowd was on hand at Spiro Sports Center to watch the Seahawks defeat the Terriers, 64-59.
But that was not the most important happening of the afternoon.
The tribute to Bob, who is survived by his wife, Erica, and their son, Aidan Robert, who is two-and-a-half years old, was.
Erica was a member of the Seahawks’ women’s basketball team when she first met Bob. And the romance blossomed from there!
All proceeds from the contest that was televised live on the MSG Network went to the Aidan Robert Balut Scholarship Fund.
Members of the television crew, from announcers to camera workers to engineers to the producer and director donated their game fees to the fund. Additional proceeds, including gate receipts and fan donations, from all NEC games last weekend, went to the fund.
“There is no better way to honor my husband’s memory than to hold a fund-raiser to benefit our son’s future,” said Erica Balut, who was married to Bob in 2003.
“Bob made it a point to plan for Aidan’s education before he was ever born.
“I know Bob is so thankful for everything that the NEC, Wagner, the rest of the conference and the TV crew is doing for this event. Nothing will ever take away the pain and sadness I feel, but it comforts me to know that there are so many great people willing to take time out of the normal schedules to put together such a wonderful day in memory of my husband. I can’t thank everyone enough.”
Balut was known for his energy and passion for his work. He began his tenure with the NEC in November 2004, and was the league’s media contact for football, women’s basketball and softball, organized numerous championships and played a key role in the relaunch of the conference website.
This after the six years at Wagner, including four as the school’s Sports Information Director from 1999-2003. He created the Seahawk Broadcasting Network, which streamed Wagner’s first-ever Internet broadcasts for football, basketball and baseball.
In addition, Bob served on the Wagner Athletic Hall of Fame and the Seahawk Golf Classic committees and had a two-year stint as the Chair of the NECC Sports Information Directors committee.
Balut, a graduate of South Carolina in 1997 with a degree in Sports Administration, also worked as a media relations assistant at the University of Massachusetts in 1997 and began his career as an undergraduate assistant at the university of South Carolina, where he served as baseball contact for two seasons (1996-97). He won College Sports Information Directors of America Baseball Writers Association “Best In The Nation” award for his 1997 baseball media guide.
“We express our sincere thanks for this wonderful and magnificent tribute to our son,” said Bob’s parents, Charlie and Donna Balut. “We are so proud to know how much he was respected and loved. He certainly left his mark on our world.
“Bob was so special in everything he did and we were fortunate and privileged to have him as our son. Keep him always in your thoughts and prayers. We miss him dearly.”
Terriers on TV
Last weekend’s game against Wagner was the first of four TV appearances for St. Francis College basketball this season.
The men’s team will host Robert Morris on Saturday, Feb. 16, at 2 p.m. in a game to be shown on FSNY.
On Thursday, Feb. 21, the men and women’s squads travel to L.I.U. in Downtown Brooklyn for a doubleheader that will be carried by MSG.
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