All-Sports Museum
Penn State All-Sports Museum—
The History
The All-Sports Museum opened its doors at the southwest corner of Beaver Stadium in 2001 as part of the broader stadium expansion project that brought the East Suites and the Mt. Nittany Club to the newly cantilevered south endzone in fall 2001.
The late Lou Prato (PSU Class of 1959) spearheaded the Museum project and served as its first Director from 2001-2005. Prato was considered a Penn State historian who authored 7 books primarily revolving around the football program under Joe Paterno.
The Exhibits
The Museum houses and displays championship trophies, historical artifacts, photos, videos, and memorabilia from every Penn State sport (past & present).
Some of the most important and popular exhibits include the 1973 Heisman Trophy awarded to John Cappelletti (the only PSU player ever to win it), the ‘fan photo mosaic’ designed to honor the memory of football legend, Franco Harris (see photos of both the Heisman and mosaic below), and the permanent Paterno Family Football Experience Room which opened Sept. 3, 2026, and features interactive displays, Joe Paterno’s office desk and other personal memorabilia from his career at Penn State (see photo below). Note: Cappelletti’s Heisman Trophy and other major football trophies are now located in the Paterno Room.
FYI—The Franco Harris mosaic was unveiled in the Museum lobby on November 12, 2023. The wall is covered with nearly two thousand individual photos/selfies of fans with Franco that blend into a real action photo image of Harris taken during the October 16, 1971 game at Syracuse. Lane Stewart snapped the original game photo, and it is used under a limited license from Sports Illustrated.
Major Special Exhibits
Penn State’s most ambitious special, multi-year exhibit was no doubt the one honoring the over 1,200 men and women from then-Penn State College who competed in varsity athletics (or similar) and served in the military during World War II (27 are known to have died in service to the country). The exhibit was called “I am a Penn Stater: Nittany Lions in World War II” and it remained on display for over 3 years in the second-floor rotating display space (June 10, 2022 through August 15, 2025—ending on the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in the Pacific)—See 3 images from this exhibit immediately below.
Other exhibits have focused on Penn Staters in World War I, Penn State’s several “Unbeaten & Uncrowned” football teams, and on the photography of PSU grad and longtime professional photographer, Pat Little, who shot Nittany Lion sports from 1977-2005 (see 2 images from Pat Little’s “The Way I Saw It” exhibit below Nittany Notes section).
Nittany Notes—
The All-Sports Museum has also become known for the creation of large and small collector card sets that are designed to accompany some of their special exhibits…
Their largest card series was part of the equally huge “I am a Penn Stater: Nittany Lions in World War II” exhibit that ran from June 2022 into August 2025. A total of 60 numbered cards (plus an unnumbered header/info card) were issued in 3 series and covered a wide range of Penn Staters of the era (79 in all) who had been varsity athletes, etc., and had served various roles in the US military. The cards were similar in size and card stock quality to typical modern football/baseball cards and were commonly handed out free on gamedays at a tent near the museum entrance and on other days inside the museum itself (until the supply ran out). Cards were frequently rubberbanded together in small groups for easier distribution to fans. The cards featured one, two, or three people (many in their military uniforms) along with brief biographies on the card backs.
Examples of Penn State football players issued (see 2 sample cards below): “Light Horse” Harry Wilson card #4 (Wilson also played football at West Point following his days at State), Victor Gentilman #5, Cass Sisler #11 (the only card front to not have a photo of the person named), Jim Mariades #18, Lloyd Parsons #21, Gil Radcliff #32, Jack Castignola #33 (only Penn Stater known to have played in 1944 “Mosquito Bowl” on Guadalcanal—see ‘Movie Notes’ section at very bottom), John “Pepper” Petrella & Ted Kratzke shared card #38, Bill Debler #43 (wing leader of the Flying Nittany Lions V-5 Navy Training unit), Steve Hamas & Rowan “Tubby” Crawford shared card #45 (both lettered in 5 different sports at State), John Potsklan #46, Bill Howarth #51, and Ed Czekaj #58 (future PSU Athletic Director)
W. Garfield Thomas (Soccer/PS class of 1938) was the only individual honored on two different cards (#8 & #9) released in the first series of the set (2022-23). Thomas, a Navy Cross recipient, was Killed in Action in 1942.
The final card (#60) which was issued on Memorial Day, May 26, 2025, appropriately honored 1st LT Bob Ernst (PSU class of 1941, Soccer Center-Forward 1938-40) who was Killed in Action on July 10, 1945, when his P-51 Mustang from the 45th Fighter Squadron was shot down over Japan. Ernst was the last of 27 known Penn Staters associated with varsity or similar sports to die in WWII.
Since the WWII card series concluded in 2025, the All-Sports Museum issued a “micro-series” of 8 cards (including the header card) featuring the Beaver Stadium photography of Pat Little, and a second “micro-series” on the Nittany Lion mascot (also featuring Pat’s work). The final card of the initial Pat Little 8-card series (“The Way I Saw It”) was his photo of the mascot with the National Championship trophy taken at the 1983 Blue-White game, and this was also technically the first card of Little’s ensuing mascot series for the 2026 football season.
Movie Notes:
Director Peter Berg’s 2026 theatrical release motion picture “The Mosquito Bowl” (based on the 2022 book by Buzz Bissinger) revolves around World War II in the Pacific from Tarawa to the final battle on Okinawa and focuses on 4 of the 65 known college football stars to have played in the Christmas Eve 1944 “Football Classic” on Guadalcanal (aka the Mosquito Bowl). While not specifically mentioned, a single former Penn Stater was with them—Jack Castignola.
Castignola only played 5 games for the Nittany Lions as a member of the “One-Year Wonders” of the 1943 Penn State football squad prior to being sent overseas. Castignola played halfback for Woody Hayes at New Philadelphia High School in Ohio and then at the University of Dayton before joining the Marines and getting assigned to the Navy V-12 Training program at Penn State. As a Nittany Lion, he is best remembered for his 2 touchdown receptions in the 14-0 win over Bucknell and an interception in the scoreless tie vs. Colgate. Castignola lettered in 1943 despite the limited number of games played at State.
Per the story of the Mosquito Bowl, the Christmas Eve game featured the Marine 6th Division’s 4th & 29th Regiments playing full contact football on a makeshift dirt field on the island. The game reportedly ended in a 0-0 tie and was “broadcast” over what was called the “Mosquito Radio Network” to the members of the 6th on Guadalcanal. Corporal Castignola (29th Regiment) and his fellow Marines would later take part in the 1945 invasion of Okinawa—15 of the players from the Mosquito Bowl were killed in action. Castignola survived the war and later coached high school football in Ohio and Michigan. He was elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1985. The Penn State All-Sports Museum honored Jack Castignola with a card in its 60-card series “I am a Penn Stater: Nittany Lions in World War II” which was issued 2022-25 (see Jack’s card below).
Director’s Note:
Peter Berg also directed the 2013 movie “Lone Survivor” (based on the 2007 book by Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell) which focused on the Navy Seals’ June 2005 Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan that included Penn State 1998 grad LT Michael Murphy (portrayed by actor Taylor Kitsch). Murphy was killed in the operation and later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. The USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112), an Aegis guided missile destroyer, was commissioned in 2012. A memorial to Murphy sits on the University Park campus near Old Main.
