Ed White (football)

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Ed White
Date of birth:	April 4, 1947 (1947-04-04) (age 61)
Place of birth:	La Mesa, California
Career information
Position(s):	Guard
College:	University of California, Berkeley
NFL Draft:	1969 / Round: 2 / Pick 39
Organizations
As player:
1969–1977 1977–1985	Minnesota Vikings San Diego Chargers
Career highlights and Awards
Pro Bowls:	1975, 1976, 1977, 1979
Stats at DatabaseFootball.com
College Football Hall of Fame

Edward Alvin White (born April 4, 1947 in La Mesa, California) is a former American football player. But he graduated from Indio High School in Indio, California and the school's football stadium is named Ed White Stadium.

In college, White played for the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears (1966-68) and was selected a consensus All-American player in 1968. White usually was a lineman, but even was used as a receiver and quarterback on occasion (which is remarkable for a 6'3", 300 pound athlete).

White began his professional football career with the Minnesota Vikings after being drafted in the second round of the 1969 AFL/NFL draft. Before the 1978 season, he was traded to the San Diego Chargers, with whom he played until 1985 when he retired after 17 years and 241 games. Mainly used at offensive guard, he was selected to the Pro Bowl four times.

He was named three times the Chargers’ offensive lineman (1983, 1984, 1985), and has been inducted into five Hall of Fames:

College Football Hall of Fame
University of California Hall of Fame
Breitbard Hall of Fame
East-West Shrine Game Hall of Fame
San Diego Charger Hall of Fame (2004)

White's brother, Paul F White, PhD, MD, is a world renown expert and physician in anesthesiology.

[edit] Notable quotes

Dan Fouts (Chargers QB 1973-1987 and NFL Hall of Fame in 1993) believes White deserves at least one more: the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Fouts cited the length of White’s career, his four Pro Bowl trips and four Super Bowl appearances with Minnesota. “No question about it,” Fouts said. “When he retired, nobody had played in more games (241) as an offensive lineman than Ed White. They don’t have any statistics for offensive linemen other than Pro Bowls and Super Bowls, and those are things Ed has done. 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.”

“Big Ed was probably the best all-around offensive lineman in the league in terms of run blocking and pass blocking,” said Dennis McKnight, a center/guard for the Chargers from 1982-88.

In an interview with Kansas City Chiefs all-pro offensive tackle Kyle Turley^[1], he had a few comments regarding White as a coach:

• Who was the best coach you ever had at any level?

KT: "Ed White, no question. I don't even have to think about it."

• Was the switch from defensive end to offensive tackle hard?

KT: "Not really. I had a great coach named Ed White who really knew how to speak with me. He was like a father. Ed was always level and told you what needed to be done in a way that made you want to do it for him and yourself. I was a wrestler in high school, so I guess wrestling helped me switch positions a lot, too."

[edit] A conversation with Chargers Offensive Lineman Ed White

Reprinted from Pro! Gameday Magazine –November 30, 1980, by Wayne Lockwood

Ed White would be perfect for Johnny Carson’s “Carnac the Magnificent” bit. The turbaned Carson could hold an envelope up to his forehead and say, “The answer is Ed White.”

And the question, oh great one?

“Name the only NFL player with a degree in landscape architecture who sculpts in bronze to play in the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl and win the NFL arm–wrestling championship.”

In other words, White may not be the league’s Renaissance man, but he’s not far off. He can play football, too.

A consensus All–America middle guard at the University of California, White was taken on the second round of the 1969 draft by the Minnesota Vikings, who switched him to the offensive line. He became a starter at guard in 1970 and never relinquished the role. White played for the Vikings until 1978, when he was traded to the San Diego Chargers for running back Rickey Young. One of the few players to be named to the Pro Bowl from both the AFC and the NFC, White has appeared in the game three times, following the 1975, 1976, and 1977 seasons.

• What prompted your interest in sculpture?

“Well, I’ve always had an interest in art, and I studied some art in college. I decided I wanted to pursue something along those lines when I finished with football. I decided to devote this offseason to studying art. I managed to hit an area that I happened to like–sculpture. I’ve always been talented, art–wise, and I feel that I have some gifts in that direction. I enjoy art as much as I do football. I feel I can be as successful in art as I have been in football.”

• What particular satisfaction do you get out of your art?

“I guess the thing I like about it is that I’m able to express an emotion that I have, a feeling, and I’m able to convey it to other people through what I’m doing. When people can look at it and see what I’m trying to say, I feel good.”

• You also had a creative major in college.

“I was in the College of Environmental Design. Landscape architecture requires you to take most of the architecture courses, so I was involved in most of the creative courses that architects take, plus art classes as well. At that time, some art teachers were after me to study art instead of pursuing football. That was a positive indication to me. But I’ve had so little time to devote to it. I’ve done one oil painting … it’s hanging in [former Minnesota running back] Dave Osborn’s house, a wildlife scene. But I really felt that there are too many painters in the world and that I’d be better off expressing myself in a medium not too many people work with or know anything about–metal. I do like to do sculpting. There are several guys who paint in pro ball, but it just seems to me that sculpting requires more knowledge, more specialized knowledge. I’m reading a lot of anatomy books right now. It’s interesting to me. I actually like working with my hands, molding and carving.”

• Is that what led you into such an unusual major in college?

“I kind of wanted to get into art, but they had some very tough requirements in the language area. I wasn’t particularly interested in art history, either. I was more interested in current things than the past. “

• Are there any other landscape architecture majors in the NFL?

“I don’t think so. I think a couple of football players after me at Cal took it, but I don’t think they went into the NFL.”

• You won the NFL players arm–wrestling tournament. When did you first become involved in that sport?

“It started in high school, where we used to wrestle for hamburgers at lunch. We literally wagered our meal tickets. Needless to say, we got quite serious. My buddy in high school was named Tiny, and Tiny weighed about three hundred pounds and was about six feet eight inches tall, so I had some pretty stiff competition.”

• Have you ever lost?

“I’ve never really been beaten. I’ve had matches where we just struggled back and forth until we stopped. As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, I have been beaten once. I was a sophomore in high school and the deacon of our church was a four hundred fifty pound man. I wasn’t as big as I am now [6 feet 2 inches, 274 pounds] and I struggled with him for a long time, and he finally beat me. But that’s the only time I can recollect, outside of doing it when I was a kid with my dad [a construction contractor], who was a hod carrier at the time. He used to just hold me up there and let me strain.”

• How much of arm–wrestling is strength and how much technique?

“A lot is technique–ten or fifteen percent, which, I think, is a lot. The technique involves more than just the physical aspects … the proper way to take a guy down, the quickness of the start. Another part is the mental part, being able to click on your adrenaline having it at maximum strength at the top of your motion. In my case, that’s a real key. It’s like throwing the shot, which I did in high school and college. You have to be able to summon your adrenaline at a particular instant. “

• You’ve been called the strongest man in the NFL. Do you agree with that?

“Well, certainly [laughing]. Actually, in my estimation everyone who plays is strong. I’m lucky that I’m a big man. I get a lot of strength from my size. But I think that I’m naturally strong, too. It comes to me pretty naturally, without much weight lifting. We’ve had big, strong people in my family for a long time. “

• Who would you vote for as the second strongest person in the league?

“I’d hate to make anybody mad. I could name about ten who are very strong. Obviously, Mike Webster and Jon Kolb of the Steelers are exceptionally strong people. Bob Young [formerly of the St. Louis Cardinals] is another real strong guy. But weightlifting is only one measure, a very structured one. I’ve never done much with weights, and I don’t have very good form. If a guy bench presses five hundred pounds and I do four hundred, I don’t think that shows who is stronger. I think I have as much natural strength as anyone in the league. “

• All the people you’ve mentioned are offensive players.

“I don’t want to mention any defensive players [laughing]!”

• Is there any advantage to being a good arm–wrestler when it comes to playing guard?

“Sure. Maybe the biggest is that it might be a psychological edge. Any time you can make your opponents concerned about something, I think that’s a big advantage.

• Does it ever lead to complaints about holding?

“I haven’t had too many complaints lately. When I didn’t know how to pass block as well, they used to complain a little.”

• You were an All–America defensive lineman in college and you had to come into the NFL as an offensive player. How did you make the adjustment?

“I didn’t like it. I felt – and I still feel – that I would have made a better defensive tackle. I came out the same year Joe Greene did. I feel that Joe is an excellent athlete. But I felt that I had the same potential Joe did. It’s always bugged me. They almost go by a scale of ‘If you’re this tall, you’re not going to be able to play this position.’ That’s literally why I didn’t become a defensive tackle. They felt I was too short. That’s always disappointed me. But I guess I should be thankful. If I were coming out of college now, they probably wouldn’t even consider me to play guard. I felt pretty strongly about the things I had done. I played against the Jets in the Chicago All–Star game [as a defensive tackle] and I did a pretty good job against their guard Dave Hermann. I thought they’d consider keeping me there. I begged ‘em every time I could beg ‘em because the same thing had happened to me in college. They said, ‘Hey, you’re an offensive guard,’ and I was really unhappy. Finally, at the end of my second year with the Vikings, everybody got hurt and it worked out that they had to use me on defense. I’ve enjoyed offense, but deep down inside I’ve always felt that I would be better at defense.”

• What’s the hardest part about going from defense to offense?

“The hardest part is that I enjoyed playing defense. I’ve never really enjoyed playing offensive guard. I’ve enjoyed it more the last few years. Defense never seemed to have the pressure that offense had for me. You play with more reckless abandon. When the ball is snapped, you just go. You just let your instincts take you to the ball. On offense, it’s all control. You’re told where you have to go and you have to be there at a certain time. The psychological studies I’ve read make me think I should have been a defensive tackle.”

• What are the differences, psychologically, between offensive and defensive linemen?

“I locker next to [offensive tackle] Billy Shields and he’s an engineer ... he’s tidy. Everything is where it’s supposed to be. My locker looks more ... well, it looks more like a defensive lineman’s locker. It’s a mess. I think they’re possibly less–organized people, a little carefree ... don’t get bothered too much. I think the offensive linemen generally are more studious–type guys. Their whole life is more well–ordered. I think I must fall somewhere in between.”

• Who are the best players you’ve played against in the NFL?

“The very best player is [1980 Pro Football Hall–of–Famer] Bob Lilly. I just feel he was head and shoulders above most of the other people. He played for several years at a great level. I think that’s the real key. I’ve played against guys like Cleveland Elam, who was an equal to Lilly when he wasn’t injured. But he got hurt, and that was it. When he was in his prime, and injury–free, he was unbelievable. I had to practice against Alan Page every day [in Minnesota] and he would have to be put in the great class, too. Louie [Kelcher of the Chargers] is right up there, too.”

• You’ve played for two very successful NFL coaches, Bud Grant and Don Coryell. Are they as dissimilar as they seem?

“I would say they’re totally dissimilar. Their only similarities are that they do not tolerate anything under a one–hundred–percent effort and a notch in the winning column. From that point on, they’re like night and day. Bud believes you can get everything done that you need to get done in a short period of time if you have a high concentration level. His theory is, if you can’t get it done in an hour and a half, you can’t get it done. Coryell’s theory is that if three hours is good, three and a half is better. He doesn’t want to leave anything to chance. Both are successful, so I’ve got no complaints about either one. Personality–wise, Bud doesn’t say much. He doesn’t talk to you unless something needs to be said. He’s got a sense of humor, but it’s more a practical joking sense of humor. Coryell, on the other hand, laughs a lot. I don’t think Bud has the personal relationship with the players that coach Coryell does. He’s really in a class by himself there ... maybe Bum Phillips is another. Coryell is an emotional, very sensitive guy. It’s meant a lot to me to play for the guy.”

[edit] References