Penn State announced today that legendary football coach Joe Paterno will be inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in the group’s 53rd annual induction ceremony.
The induction ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Valley Forge Casino in King of Prussia.
Paterno coached the Nittany Lions for more than 45 seasons, during which he amassed an NCAA Division-I record 409 wins. He also led the Lions to five undefeated seasons, two national championships and an NCAA record 24 bowl victories.
Paterno’s coaching career came to an end when he was dismissed from the team in the middle of the 2011 season in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. He died of complications from lung cancer on Jan. 22, 2012, less than three months after his firing.
In addition to Paterno, two Penn State football players are being inducted this year. Former All-American quarterback Chuck Fusina and former All-American kicker Matt Bahr will also be inducted. Fusina played from 1976-78 and led Penn State to an 11-0 season while winning the Maxwell Award as the Nation’s Outstanding Player. Bahr, who also played from 1976-78, held the Penn State record for field goal percentage until Sam Ficken broke it in 2014.
Barr also played 17 seasons in the NFL, tied with QB Kerry Collins for the longest NFL career by a former Penn State player.
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First Published: June 16, 2015, 8:53 p.m.