Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno died on January 22. He was 85. The legendary coach, seen here in 1988, was fired in November 2011 during his 46th season at the helm of the Nittany Lions program.
Washington (CNN) -- The FBI investigated threats against the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and his staff starting in the late 1970s and looked into harassing phone calls made to Paterno in 1995, according to the bureau.
Investigators looked into the threats but no charges were filed in the cases.
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The FBI files on matters pertaining to Paterno totaled more than 900 pages. But the FBI said Wednesday there was nothing in the files mentioning former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky or allegations of sexual abuse of children.
Sandusky, who worked closely with Paterno, was convicted in June on 45 counts of abuse spanning at least 15 years.
Many of the pages in Paterno's dossier deal with threatening letters sent to the coach, his staff, one of the team's players, and the player's mother starting in the late 1970s. The FBI said the person who sent the letters apologized and no charges were filed.
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Another issue that was investigated was a series of harassing phone calls made to Paterno in 1995. The FBI said the person who made the calls was mentally handicapped and agreed to stop after being interviewed by the FBI. Once again no charges were brought.
The Washington Times obtained copies of the Paterno files through a Freedom of Information Act request. The FBI gave the paper 868 pages and withheld 44 pages for privacy or other reasons. CNN has not obtained a copy of the files but the FBI confirmed what is in them.
Paterno died of lung cancer in January. An independent review of Penn State's handling of reported sexual abuse by Sandusky was released July 12. A team headed by former FBI director Louis Freeh found that Paterno and other top school officials showed a "callous and shocking disregard for child victims."
The report faulted Paterno and the others for not taking action against Sandusky.
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The statue of Paterno outside Beaver Stadium is among many vestiges of Paterno's years as head coach.
Paterno sprints off the field with his team at halftime in a 1996 game.
In October 2001, Paterno is honored before a game for having won the most games in Division 1-A. He continued to vie with Florida State's Bobby Bowden for the most all-time major college wins until Bowden retired in 2009.
Paterno and his Nittany Lions look on before facing Iowa at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania, in October 2004.
Paterno shakes hands with Lloyd Carr of Michigan before their game in 2005 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Paterno celebrates a triple-overtime Orange Bowl win over Florida State in Miami on January 3, 2006. Paterno has guided his teams to more bowl victories than any other college coach.
Paterno speaks at a post-game press conference after winning the Outback Bowl on January 1, 2007, in Tampa, Florida.
Paterno walks the field as his players warm up before their game against the Syracuse Orangemen at Beaver Stadium in September 2009 in Pennsylvania. The coach was fired in November amid the outcry over the handling of accusations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
Paterno gives direction to his players before playing the Crimson Tide in Alabama in 2010.
Paterno walks the sidelines in October 2009 in Evanston, Illinois. In December 2011, he was admitted to a hospital after fracturing his pelvis when he slipped and fell at his home in State College.
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