Charles A. "Rip" Engle (March 26, 1906 – March 7, 1983) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach of football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. He served as the head football coach at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Provide ...

from 1944 to 1949 and at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

from 1950 to 1966, 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 McDaniel College is a private college in Westminster, Maryland. Established in 1867, it was known as Western Maryland College until 2002 when it was renamed McDaniel College in honor of an alumnus who gave a lifetime of service to the college. ...

–during the 1941–42 season at Brown from 1942 to 1946, tallying a career

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athle ...

mark of 53–55. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vot ...

as a coach in 1973.

Early life and playing career

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

Coaching career

Engle's coaching record from 1944 to 1965, including stints at

and Penn State, was 132–68–8. He played football at

Western Maryland College McDaniel College is a private college in Westminster, Maryland. Established in 1867, it was known as Western Maryland College until 2002 when it was renamed McDaniel College in honor of an alumnus who gave a lifetime of service to the college. ...

, reportedly in the first game he ever saw. Under the leadership of Engle at Brown,

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 20 ...

developed as a capable

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ameri ...

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 The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nat ...

. He was inducted into the

in 1973. Engle developed a game called Angleball as a way for his players to maintain

physical fitness Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate-vigorous physical ...

in the off-season.

Death

Engle died on March 7, 1983, at a nursing home in

Bellefonte, Pennsylvania Bellefonte is a borough in, and the county seat of, Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is approximately twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The boro ...

Head coaching record

College football

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Engle, Rip 1906 births 1983 deaths American football ends Brown Bears football coaches Brown Bears men's basketball coaches McDaniel Green Terror men's basketball coaches McDaniel Green Terror football coaches McDaniel Green Terror football players Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches High school football coaches in Pennsylvania College Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Somerset County, Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania