Dwight White

Dwight Lynn White (July 30, 1949 – June 6, 2008) was an American football defensive end who played for ten seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL)[1] and was a member of the famed Steel Curtain defense.[2]

Dwight White
No. 78
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born:(1949-07-30)July 30, 1949
Hampton, Virginia
Died:June 6, 2008(2008-06-06) (aged 58)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
College:East Texas State
NFL Draft:1971 / Round: 4 / Pick: 104
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Interceptions:4
Games:126
Player stats at NFL.com

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).[3]

Pittsburgh Steelers

Nicknamed "Mad Dog", because of his intensity,[4] 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,[5] 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.[6] The Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 16–6.

White finished his career with 46 quarterback sacks as recorded unofficially by the Steelers;[7] sacks were not an official NFL defensive stat until 1982.[8]

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.[9] A blood clot in his lung, the complication from back surgery, is the suspected cause of death.[5] 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.[10]

Notes
  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. "Dwight White". Steelers.com. 2008-06-06. Archived from the original on 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
  3. "Dwight White Bio". Steelers.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
  4. Associated Press (2008-06-07). "Dwight White, 58, Mad Dog of Vaunted Steel Curtain, Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  5. Dulac, Gerry (2008-06-07). "Steel Curtain's 'Mad Dog' dies". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  6. "Pittsburgh fixes error in Super Bowl proclamation". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. February 10, 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  7. "Steelers Records" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  8. "History Of The Sack Statistic". Packers.com. August 13, 2009. Archived from the original on March 9, 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  9. "Former Steeler Dwight White dies". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
  10. 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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