Brown Bears (1948)

The latest dip into the bag o' random gives us a not inconsiderable Brown team.

The Team: The Bears went 7-2, their best record since they went 7-1 in 1931 and '32. The two losses were to mediocre Harvard and Yale teams. The wins came over Princeton (on a walk-off field goal by kicker/center Joe Condon), Rhode Island, Holy Cross, UConn, Rutgers, Western Reserve and Colgate (on Thanksgiving). The Bears outscored their foes 242-103. 

The 1948 Bears.

The Players: You've probably heard a little over the years about junior Joe Paterno, who played quarterback and cornerback in Providence and still shares the school career record for defensive interceptions with 14. One odd fact about JoePa was that his tuition was funded by comics magnate Everett "Busy" Arnold, a Brown alumnus and benefactor.

Joe Paterno flashes his defensive skills against Holy Cross.

Paterno and fellow DB Walt Pastuzak led a pass defense that ranked fourth in the nation (presumably in yards). Ed Finn handled the passing duties, while guard John Chernak was named to something called the sophomore All-America team, according to the 1949 Liber Brunensis yearbook. Moe Maloney, also a basketball star, and Chuck Nelson were the top receivers. George Paterno, Joe's brother, was a fullback.

The Coach: Charles A. "Rip" Engle was an end at Western Maryland (now McDaniel) College, where the first football game he played in also was allegedly the game he ever saw. He coached Brown to a 28-20-4 mark from 1944-49, before he left to lead at Penn State, taking Paterno with him as an assistant. Engle was 104-48-4 at Penn State from 1950-65 before he retired and handed the ball off to Paterno.

The Uniforms: Silver has been Brown's secondary color since the 1970s, but before that gold or tan trim was in fashion. The Bears took the field in gold plastic helmets with brown jerseys at home and white on the road, capped with gold pants. Northwestern striping was used on the sleeves for both jerseys. The Bears appear to be one of the early New England teams to wear plastic headgear.

Brown in action in their home unis.

George Paterno tries to bulldoze his way through the line.

The Fallout: Brown improved to 8-1 in 1949 (the loss was to Princeton) before Engle left for Happy Valley. The Bears collapsed to 1-8 in 1950 under one-and-done coach Gus Zitrides before successor Alva Kelley resorted them to respectability.