Charles White (American football)
No. 25, 33 | |||||||||||||
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Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | January 22, 1958||||||||||||
Died: | January 11, 2023 Newport Beach, California, U.S. | (aged 64)||||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | San Fernando (San Fernando, California) | ||||||||||||
College: | USC (1976–1979) | ||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1980 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||||
Charles Raymond White (January 22, 1958 – January 11, 2023) was an American
Early life
Born in Los Angeles, California, White graduated from San Fernando High School in San Fernando, where as a track and field athlete he won the 330-yard (302 m) low hurdles at the CIF California State Meet over future Olympic Gold medalist Andre Phillips.[2] He was also a standout high school football player.
College career
White attended the University of Southern California, where he played for the
College statistics
Legend | |
---|---|
Led the Pac-8/Pac-10 | |
Pac-8/Pac-10 record | |
Led the NCAA | |
NCAA Record | |
Bold | Career high |
Season | Team | GP | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
1976 | USC | 12 | 156 | 858 | 5.5 | 10 | 6 | 65 | 10.8 | 1 |
1977 | USC | 12 | 285 | 1,478 | 5.2 | 7 | 9 | 138 | 15.3 | 2 |
1978 | USC | 13 | 374 | 1,859 | 5.0 | 13 | 22 | 193 | 8.8 | 1 |
1979 | USC | 12 | 332 | 2,050 | 6.2 | 19 | 22 | 145 | 6.6 | 0 |
Career | 49 | 1,147 | 6,245 | 5.4 | 49 | 59 | 541 | 9.2 | 4 |
* Includes bowl games.
Professional career
White was the 27th overall pick in the
After his release from the Browns in 1985, he reunited with his college
White finished his NFL career with 3,075 rushing yards, and 23 rushing touchdowns, along with 114
Post-playing career
In 1993, White joined USC as running backs coach; he later worked as a computer consultant.[5]
In its third and fourth seasons, American Gladiators held special "Pro Football Challenge of Champions" shows. White participated in and won both, each time coming from behind in the "Eliminator" thanks to slip-ups by his opponents.[6] He also competed in sixth season's USC vs. Notre Dame alumni special where he also won, giving him a 3-0 record on the show.
Personal life and drug use
During his years at USC, White struggled with cocaine and marijuana use. In a 1987 Sports Illustrated article, he admitted to smoking marijuana daily at USC and snorted his first line of cocaine a few weeks before the 1977 Rose Bowl. He met fellow USC student Judi McGovern and the two dated throughout their time at USC, eventually marrying and having a daughter. However, White continued his cocaine use through college and on into his early NFL career with the Browns. White checked into drug rehab in 1982 and was clean for three years. Even so, the Browns cut him in 1985 and he was picked up on waivers by the Los Angeles Rams, where he was reunited with John Robinson, his former college coach at USC.
White soon had a short relapse into cocaine, but got clean again until one night in August 1987, where he and a friend did lines until White was arrested. However, Robinson bailed him out of jail and agreed to keep him on the team if he stayed clean. White responded with the best season of his career in the strike-affected 1987 season, running for 339 yards in the three "scab games" after the Rams traded Eric Dickerson —- and then running for 100 yards in five straight games afterwards.[7]
White and McGovern eventually divorced. White sold his 1979 Heisman Trophy in 2000 to settle tax debts. White had five children, three daughters and two sons.[8]
A
White died of liver cancer on January 11, 2023, at the age of 64.[10] He is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),[11] which is caused by repeated hits to the head.[12][13]
See also
- List of college football yearly rushing leaders
References
- ^ "Charles White". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
- ^ "California State Meet Results - 1915 to present". Hank Lawson. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
- ^ "Charles White college statistics". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- ^ "Catching Up With Charles White". CNN. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
- ^ "Charles White". Premiere Athlete & Celebrity. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
- ^ "American Gladiators". tv.com. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
- ^ "A Visit to Hell".
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. 17 November 2008.
- ^ "Why has USC forgotten Charles White? Haunted Heisman winner hopes relationship heals". Los Angeles Times. 17 July 2022.
- AP News. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
- ^ Kent Babb (Dec 8, 2023). "They watched their husbands win the Heisman – then lost them to CTE. For years, Heisman weekend was a chance to remember their husband's glory. Now it's a reminder of a sport's violent toll". Washington Post. Retrieved Dec 9, 2023.
- ^ "The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)". Concussion Legacy Foundation. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
- ^ Ken Belson and Benjamin Mueller (June 20, 2023). "Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. The largest study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy to date found that the cumulative force of head hits absorbed by players in their careers is the best predictor of future brain disease". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
External links
- Charles White at the College Football Hall of Fame
- Charles White at Heisman.com
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference