Career
In high school, Paine earned varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball, and he earned a scholarship to play for the Oklahoma Sooners men"s basketball team He played for four seasons: 1941, 1943, 1944 and 1947. He had spent two years in the United States Army before finishing his college career.
Paine, a 6 ft 0 in (183 m) guard, guided the Sooners to two Big Six Conference titles in 1944 and 1947.
As a junior he led the conference in scoring and was named both a First Team All-Conference and consensus First Team All-American selection. In his final season of 1946-1947, he helped Oklahoma reach the national championship game in the 1947 National Collegiate Athletic Association Men"s Division I Basketball Tournament.
The Sooners lost, however, to the Holy Cross Crusaders 58–47. Paine graduated from Oklahoma with bachelor degrees in business and education.
He appeared in five games and scored 17 points.
Two years later, he started working with Robert R. Nigh and ultimately became the president of Robert R. Nigh Associates for 35 years. Paine was very involved in church and community life. Throughout his years he served on the Enid Public Schools Board of Education, was a Boy Scouts of America troop leader, Little League baseball coach, member and president of American Business Club, and volunteered at soup kitchens with his church.
