Rip Engle

Rip Engle
Biographical details
Born(1906-03-26)March 26, 1906
Elk Lick, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedMarch 7, 1983(1983-03-07) (aged 76)
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Playing career
1929Western Maryland
Position(s)End
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1930–1940Waynesboro HS (PA)
1941Western Maryland (freshmen)
1942Brown (ends)
1943Brown (backs)
1944–1949Brown
1950–1965Penn State
Basketball
1941–1942Western Maryland
1942–1946Brown
Head coaching record
Overall132–68–8 (college football)
53–55 (college basketball)
Bowls3–1
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1969)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1973 (profile)

Charles A. "Rip" Engle (March 26, 1906 – March 7, 1983) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Brown University from 1944 to 1949 and at Pennsylvania State University from 1950 to 1965, compiling a career college football record of 132–68–8. Engle was also the head basketball coach Western Maryland College—now known as McDaniel College—during the 1941–42 season at Brown from 1942 to 1946, tallying a career college basketball mark of 53–55. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1973.

Early life and playing career

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Engle was born in Elk Lick Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. He played college football as an end at Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College.

Coaching career

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Engle's coaching record from 1944 to 1965, including stints at Brown University and Penn State, was 132–68–8. He played football at Western Maryland College, reportedly in the first game he ever saw.

Under the leadership of Engle at Brown, Joe Paterno developed as a capable quarterback and a skillful leader. After graduating in 1950, Paterno joined Engle at Penn State as an assistant coach. Upon Engle's retirement in February 1966, Paterno was named coach of the Nittany Lions for the 1966 season, a position he would hold until 2011. Engle's best season at Penn State was in 1962 when the Lions went 9–2, were ranked ninth in the country, and played in the Gator Bowl. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973.

Engle developed a game called Angleball as a way for his players to maintain physical fitness in the off-season.

Death

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Engle died on March 7, 1983, at a nursing home in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.[1]

Head coaching record

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College football

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
Brown Bears (Independent) (1944–1949)
1944 Brown 3–4–1
1945 Brown 3–4–1
1946 Brown 3–5–1
1947 Brown 4–4–1
1948 Brown 7–2
1949 Brown 8–1
Brown: 28–20–4
Penn State Nittany Lions (Independent) (1950–1965)
1950 Penn State 5–3–1
1951 Penn State 5–4
1952 Penn State 7–2–1
1953 Penn State 6–3
1954 Penn State 7–2 16 20
1955 Penn State 5–4
1956 Penn State 6–2–1
1957 Penn State 6–3
1958 Penn State 6–3–1
1959 Penn State 9–2 W Liberty 10 12
1960 Penn State 7–3 W Liberty 16
1961 Penn State 8–3 W Gator 19 17
1962 Penn State 9–2 L Gator 9 9
1963 Penn State 7–3 16
1964 Penn State 6–4 14
1965 Penn State 5–5
Penn State: 104–48–4
Total: 132–68–8

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Former coach 'Rip Engle' dies at 76". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Associated Press. March 8, 1983. p. 12. Retrieved January 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
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