Penn State

From an AP sports writer and author, a history of Pennsylvania State University’s Nittany Lions, with personal stories from coaches and players. In Tales from Penn State Football, Ken Rappoport puts you on the fifty-yard line and sometimes gets you a seat on the bench or a stall in the locker room. From the first team in the 1880s to the celebrated Joe Paterno teams of the 20th century, Penn State’s most entertaining—and legendary—football stories are chronicled here. And there is plenty to tell, considering the history of the Penn State football program. Penn State football started in 1881. These early pioneers could hardly envision the future popularity of the game, where crowds of more than 100,000 would fill Beaver Stadium to see Paterno’s nationally ranked powers play in the second-largest football stadium in America. In between, there have been plenty of colorful stories and characters at Penn State to fill a book. There was a coach who held up a Rose Bowl game over a violent argument and another who credited a mule for his success. Also, a player who impersonated the legendary Jim Thorpe and another nicknamed “Riverboat Richie” for his gambling instincts on the football field. For many of the stories in this book, Rappoport went right to the source. In an earlier interview at the Nittany Lion Inn, Joe Paterno talked about his famous “Grand Experiment.” At about the same time, Rip Engle discussed his most treasured moments at Penn State. Football aficionados will relish every tale. The perfect gift for college football buffs and Penn State fans.

With play-by-play coverage of every Nittany Lion bowl game, this book chronicles Penn State football's vibrant history all the way back to the 1923 Rose Bowl. The team broke the color barrier at the Cotton Bowl in 1948, finished undefeated after back-to-back Orange Bowl victories in 1969 and 1970, and reigned over the college football world with national championships in the 1983 Sugar Bowl and 1987 Fiesta Bowl.

When Evan Pugh became the first president of Pennsylvania’s Farmers’ High School—later to be known as The Pennsylvania State University—the small campus was in disrepair and in dire need of leadership. Pugh was young, barely into his 30s, but he was energetic, educated, and visionary. During his tenure as president he molded the school into a model institution of its kind: America’s first scientifically based agricultural college. In this volume, Roger Williams gives Pugh his first book-length biographical treatment. Williams recounts Pugh’s short life and impressive career, from his early days studying science in the United States and Europe to his fellowship in the London Chemical Society, during which he laid the foundations of the modern ammonium nitrate fertilizer industry, and back to Pennsylvania, where he set about developing “upon the soil of Pennsylvania the best agricultural college in the world” and worked to build an American academic system mirroring Germany’s state-sponsored agricultural colleges. This last goal came to fruition with the passage of the Morrill Act in 1862, just two years prior to Pugh’s death. Drawing on the scientist-academic administrator’s own writings and taking a wide focus on the history of higher education during his lifetime, Evan Pugh’s Penn State tells the compelling story of Pugh’s advocacy and success on behalf of both Penn State and land-grant colleges nationwide. Despite his short life and career, Evan Pugh’s vision for Penn State made him a leader in higher education. This engaging biography restores Pugh to his rightful place in the history of scientific agriculture and education in the United States.

Founded in 1939, Penn State Altoona began its life as the Altoona Undergraduate Center, owing its genesis to an inspired group of local citizens who built, financed, and nurtured the college through the economic woes of the Great Depression, an enrollment collapse engendered by World War II, and the rise and fall of the region's railroad fortunes. After relocating to the site of an abandoned amusement park in the late 1940s, Penn State Altoona enjoyed a rapid postwar growth spurt that culminated in 1997 with its newly minted charter as a four-year college in the Penn State University system. Using lively period photographs from the school's archives, Penn State Altoona chronicles the school's transformation into a flourishing teaching and research institution of national acclaim.

More than five hundred short line railroads existed in the United States at the industry's height, and Pennsylvania had more than any other state. The history of the Bellefonte Central, which operated in central Pennsylvania from the 1880s until 1982, is a classic story of the rise and decline of short line railroads nationwide. Connecting with the Pennsylvania Railroad--a company that proved to be both friend and foe--the Bellefonte Central played an important role in developing the region's renowned limestone and hot-blast ironmaking industries and was Penn State University's economic lifeline for generations.

Did you know that the Penn State Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten Conference in 1990? In 2018, the Nittany Lions were the top team in the Big Ten East Division. Learn more about this college team’s history, traditions, uniforms, team records, coaches, and legendary players in Penn State Nittany Lions, part of the Inside College Football series.

"Ten chapters follow, each devoted to a single decade covering the major events in the band's development over the next hundred years, such as the adoption of the name "Blue Band" in 1923."--BOOK JACKET.

Perfect for Penn State fans who think they already know everything With traditions, records, and Nittany Lions lore, this lively, detailed book explores the personalities, events, and facts every Penn State fan should know. It contains crucial information such as important dates, player nicknames, memorable moments, and outstanding achievements by singular players. From trivia on legendary players—such as John Cappelletti, Kerry Collins, Larry Johnson, LaVar Arrington, and Paul Posluszny—to knowing the best places to catch a game, 100 Things Penn State Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die is the ultimate resource guide for true fans of the Nittany Lions.