Football
| No. 24 | |||||||||
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| Halfback | |||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: (1917-06-08)June 8, 1917 | |||||||||
| Date of death: April 15, 2002(2002-04-15) (aged 84) | |||||||||
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| Career information | |||||||||
| College: Colorado | |||||||||
| NFL Draft: 1938 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4 | |||||||||
| Debuted in 1938 for the Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||||
| Last played in 1941 for the Detroit Lions | |||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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White was an All-American football halfback for the Colorado Buffaloes of the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he acquired the nickname "Whizzer" from a newspaper columnist. The nickname would follow him throughout his later legal and Supreme Court career, to White's chagrin. He also played basketball and baseball. After graduation he signed with the NFL's Pittsburgh Pirates (now Steelers), playing there during the 1938 season. He led the league in rushing in his rookie season and became the game's highest-paid player.
| Of all the athletes I have known in my lifetime, I'd have to say Whizzer White came as close to anyone to giving 100 percent of himself when he was in competition. |
| ~- Pittsburgh Pirates/Steelers owner Art Rooney |
After Oxford, White played for the Detroit Lions from 1940 to 1941. In three NFL seasons, he played in 33 games. He led the league in rushing yards in 1938 and 1940, and he was one of the first "big money" NFL players, making $15,000 a year. His career was cut short when he entered the United States Navy during World War II; after the war, he elected to attend law school rather than return to football. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.
Read more about this topic: Whizzer White
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