Dwight_White

Dwight White

Dwight White

American football player (1949–2008)

Dwight Lynn White (July 30, 1949 – June 6, 2008) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for 10 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).[1] He played college football for the East Texas State Lions. He won four Super Bowls with the Steelers as a member of their famed Steel Curtain defense.[2]

Quick Facts No. 78, Position: ...

Life and career

Born in Hampton, Virginia, White graduated from James Madison High School in Dallas, Texas and played college football at East Texas State University (since renamed Texas A&M University–Commerce) where he was teammates with future Super Bowl MVP Harvey Martin.[3][4]

Pittsburgh Steelers

Nicknamed "Mad Dog", because of his intensity,[5] White became a two-time Pro Bowl defensive end. White spent much of the week leading up to Super Bowl IX in a hospital, suffering from pneumonia; he lost 20 pounds and was not expected to play in the game. However, he did play,[6] and accounted for the only scoring in the first half when he sacked Fran Tarkenton in the end zone for a safety — the first points in Steelers' history in a championship game, and also the first safety in Super Bowl history.[7] The Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 16–6.

White finished his career with 46 quarterback sacks as recorded unofficially by the Steelers;[8] sacks were not an official NFL defensive stat until 1982.[9]

Steelers owner Dan Rooney called White "one of the greatest players to ever wear a Steelers uniform"[2] and he was named to the Steelers All-Time team in 1982 and again in 2007. He retired after the 1980 season and went on to become a stock broker.

Death

Dwight White died of complications that arose from an earlier surgery.[10] A blood clot in his lung, the complication from back surgery, is the suspected cause of death.[6] On February 1, 2010, his family filed a wrongful death suit against the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and three doctors, claiming that his death had been caused by medical negligence.[11]

Notes

  1. [1]
    The Tribune-Review (2008-06-06). "Steelers' Dwight White dead at 58". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  2. [2]
    "Dwight White". Steelers.com. 2008-06-06. Archived from the original on 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
  3. [3]
    "Dwight White Bio". Steelers.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
  4. [4]
    "Beaver County Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  5. [5]
    "Dwight White, 58, Mad Dog of Vaunted Steel Curtain, Is Dead". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2008-06-07. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  6. [6]
    Dulac, Gerry (2008-06-07). "Steel Curtain's 'Mad Dog' dies". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  7. [7]
    "Pittsburgh fixes error in Super Bowl proclamation". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. February 10, 2009. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  8. [8]
    "Steelers Records" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  9. [9]
    "History Of The Sack Statistic". Packers.com. August 13, 2009. Archived from the original on March 9, 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  10. [10]
    "Former Steeler Dwight White dies". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
  11. [11]
    Nereim, Vivian (2010-02-01). "Lawsuit filed in former Steeler player's death". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  • The Super Bowl An Official Retrospective, Ballantine Books, 2005.
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