Oft-overlooked Steelers DE White will be missed

By Robert Rousseau  |   Monday, June 09, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

Pittsburgh Steelers
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Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Dwight White died on Friday at a Pittsburgh hospital at the age of 58. Though the cause of White's death was not disclosed, the belief is that he suffered complications from a recent back surgery. Some have even speculated that a blood clot in his lung as a result of the back surgery may have caused his death.

The bottom line is that the former defensive end known as “Mad Dog” for his relentless drive and intensity will be missed greatly. First, he was a member of the famed Steel Curtain, perhaps the greatest defense in NFL history. Unfortunately, thanks to the immense amount of talent on those teams, White always seemed to be a Steel Curtain afterthought.

Of course, it’s hard not to be an afterthought on a defense that also featured Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Ernie Holmes, L.C. Greenwood, Donnie Shell, Mel Blount, and more. That said, White, a two- time Pro Bowler himself, has always deserved more notoriety than he received for his contributions to the Steelers.

White, like many of the great Steelers of the 1970s, played his entire 10-year career with the club. He was also member of their 75th anniversary all-time team, which named last season. And, by the way, he was a major reason why the team was able to defeat the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX in 1975, Pittsburgh's first such championship. In a courageous act of football heroism, White climbed out of a hospital bed to compete against the Vikings with pneumonia and a lung infection. Still, that didn’t stop him from playing the entire game and making three tackles. In fact, serving as an inspiration to the club, the Steelers only gave up a minuscule 17 yards rushing on 21 attempts during the entire game.

White also accounted for the only points in the first half by sacking former Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton in the end zone for a safety.

White lost 18 pounds because of this sickness, reinforcing the enormous heart and desire it must have took for him to play.

“He played with a relentlessness that led us to four Super Bowl titles in the 1970s,” Steelers owner Dan Rooney said in a statement. “Dwight refused to be denied, as was evidenced when he walked out of the hospital with pneumonia to play in Super Bowl IX and had an outstanding game. Dwight will be remembered by those who knew him even more for being a wonderful and caring person.”

White’s 46 sacks from 1971-80 are the seventh most in Steelers history, which says something. Furthering his tendency to come up big in big games, he also managed three sacks during the team’s 21-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X (1976).

When you put it all together, then, Dwight White was more important to the Steel Curtain than many give him credit for. He was an indispensable part of those great teams. Further, he was a very smart man who tended to liven up any room he entered, which was partly evidenced by the clear success he had outside of sports as a stockbroker in the business world.

Fifty-eight is simply too young to go, and Dwight White will be missed.
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About Robert Rousseau

Robert Rousseau is a sports writer that has been published in a variety of print and online venues. He’s been writing for RealFootball365.com for almost three years now. When Rousseau isn’t writing about college football he tends to be penning mixed martial arts pieces for MMAFighting.com or...
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