Ed White (American football)

Last updated

Ed White
Ed White Chargers.jpg
White with the San Diego Chargers c. 1985
No. 62, 67
Position Guard
Personal information
Born (1947-04-04) April 4, 1947 (age 78)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight269 lb (122 kg)
Career information
High school Helix (La Mesa, California)
Indio (Indio, California)
College California (1966–1968)
NFL draft 1969: 2nd round, 39th overall pick
Career history
Awards and highlights
Career NFL statistics
Games played241
Games started210
Fumble recoveries4
Stats at Pro Football Reference
College Football Hall of Fame

Edward Alvin White (born April 4, 1947) [1] is an American former professional football player who played as a guard in the National Football League (NFL). After retiring from football, White has worked as a coach and artist. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life

White was born in Mercy Hospital in San Diego, California, and grew up in Lemon Grove. [4] He attended Helix High School in La Mesa as a freshman before moving to the Coachella Valley, [5] where he graduated from Indio High School. [1] [6]

College career

White attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he played for the California Golden Bears (1966–1968) as a defensive lineman. He was named a consensus All-American at middle guard in 1968. [7] [8]

Professional career

White began his professional football career with the Minnesota Vikings after being selected in the second round of the 1969 AFL/NFL draft. The Vikings moved him to offensive guard. [8] In his rookie season in 1969, they scored more points than any NFL or American Football League (AFL) team. [8] He is one of eight players to have played in all four Vikings Super Bowl appearances, all losses, between 1969 and 1976. [4] Minnesota qualified for the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons with the team, and he was named to three Pro Bowls. [8]

Before the 1978 season, White was traded to the San Diego Chargers, with whom he played another eight seasons and became a fan favorite. [6] He earned his fourth Pro Bowl selection in 1979. [1] [8] White was a five-time captain for the Chargers and named their lineman of the year from 1983 to 1985. [9] Prior to the 1986 season, he retired after 17 years and 241 games, which was a then-record for the most NFL games by an offensive lineman. [8] [10]

After retiring from playing, White worked for the Chargers as an offensive line coach in 1986 and 1987. [5]

Awards and honors

Following his retirement, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, [8] University of California Athletic Hall of Fame, [11] Breitbard Hall of Fame, [4] East-West Shrine Game Hall of Fame, [12] and Chargers Hall of Fame. [8] He was named to the Vikings 25th and 40th anniversary teams, while he was placed on the Chargers 40th and 50th anniversary teams. [8] Indio High School named their football field Ed White Stadium in his honor in 1991. [13] As a testament to his impact on every team he played on, White was selected in 2015 to the Pac-12 All Century Football team as a defensive tackle for Cal. [14]

Charger quarterback Dan Fouts has been vocal about endorsing White for the Pro Football Hall of Fame: “When he retired, nobody had played in more games (241) as an offensive lineman than Ed White. They don’t have many statistics for offensive linemen other than Pro Bowls and Super Bowls, but Ed would be a leader. He was one of the most feared offensive linemen in the game. You talk to guys like Howie Long and Matt Millen who had to go against Big Ed. They hated it.”[ citation needed ] Chargers center/guard Dennis McKnight has called White “probably the best all-around offensive lineman in the league in terms of run blocking and pass blocking.”[ citation needed ] Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Kyle Turley has called White the best coach he'd ever had. [3]

In 2019, the Professional Football Researchers Association named White to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2019. [8] He was inducted into the California High School Football Hall of Fame in September 2024. [15]

Personal life

White married his high school sweetheart, Joan, in 1968. [6] Their daughter Amy died of pneumonia after a freak head injury in 1997. Their home in Julian, California, burned in the Cedar Fire in 2003. [16] In 2018, White was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. [16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ed White Stats". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Ed White Art". Ed White Art. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Fox Sports article: "One on one with Kyle Turley Archived 2008-05-12 at the Wayback Machine ." Retrieved 07 May 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 Hyvonen, Gary (February 19, 1991). "Big Ed: No ring to it, but it was an NFL career worth notice". The North County Blade-Citizen. pp.  C1, C-3 . Retrieved November 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 "Charger Assistant Coach Ed White Retires". Los Angeles Times. January 19, 1988. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 Cowan, Ernie (September 3, 2022). "Former NFL star expresses love of nature through his artwork". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  7. ↑ Newhouse, Dave (August 23, 2005). "Powerful Mebane mans middle for Cal". East Bay Times. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2019". Professional Football Researchers Association. Archived from the original on January 23, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Macek, White line up in the Chargers' Hall". The San Diego Union-Tribune. July 28, 2004. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
  10. ↑ Posner, Jay (June 20, 1986). "Chargers' Ed White retires". Times-Advocate. p. D1. Retrieved November 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Cal adds nine to Hall of Fame". Oakland Tribune. May 27, 1993. p. D-8. Retrieved November 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Aztecs OT to play in Hula Bowl". The North County Times. January 9, 2004. p. C-3. Retrieved November 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Kaplan, Rick (September 15, 1991). "Indio High renames football stadium after ex-NFL lineman". The Desert Sun. p. B8. Retrieved November 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Miller, Ted (December 2, 2015). "Pac-12 announces 'All-Century team'". ESPN. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Five College Football Hall of Famers Among 25 Individuals Selected for California High School Shrine at the Rose Bowl". National Football Foundation. September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  16. 1 2 Canepa, Nick (June 25, 2018). "Alzheimer's plays no favorites, now afflicts ex-Chargers great White". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
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