Dwight White
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Hampton, Virginia, U.S.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| No. 78 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive end | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | July 30, 1949 Hampton, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | June 6, 2008 (aged 58) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | James Madison (Dallas, Texas) | ||||||
| College | East Texas State | ||||||
| NFL draft | 1971: 4th round, 104th overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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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 (now East Texas A&M). He won four Super Bowls with the Steelers as a member of their famed Steel Curtain defense.[2]
Pittsburgh Steelers
Born in Hampton, Virginia, White graduated from James Madison High School in Dallas, Texas and played college football at East Texas State University (now East Texas A&M University) where he was teammates with future Super Bowl MVP Harvey Martin.[3][4]
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.