| No. 25, 33 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1958-01-22)January 22, 1958 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | January 11, 2023(2023-01-11) (aged 64) Newport Beach, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| 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: 1st round, 27th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Charles Raymond White (January 22, 1958 – January 11, 2023) was an American professionalfootballrunning back who played in theNational Football League (NFL) for nine seasons from 1980 to 1988. He playedcollege football for theUSC Trojans, where he was a twiceunanimous All-American and the winner of theHeisman Trophy. He was selected by theCleveland Browns in the first round (27th overall) of the1980 NFL draft.[1] He also played for theLos Angeles Rams.
Born inLos Angeles,California, White graduated fromSan Fernando High School inSan Fernando, where as atrack and field athlete he won the 330-yard (302 m) low hurdles at theCIF California State Meet over future Olympic Gold medalistAndre Phillips.[2] He was also a standouthigh school football player.
White attended the University of Southern California, where he played for theUSC Trojans football team. In 1978, White won theW.J. Voit Memorial Trophy as the outstanding college football player on the Pacific Coast. In 1979, he received theHeisman Trophy,Maxwell Award,Walter Camp Award, and was namedUPI Player of the Year. He is the second player inRose Bowl history (of four, total) to have been honored as Player of the Game twice (1979 and1980).[citation needed]
| 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.
White was the 27th overall pick in the1980 NFL draft, selected in the first round by theCleveland Browns. After four disappointing seasons in Cleveland, where he rushed for a total of 942 yards and had a 3.4 yards per carry average, White was released before the start of the1985 season. White later acknowledged that he struggled withcocaine addiction during this period.[4]
After his release from the Browns in 1985, he reunited with his collegecoach,John Robinson, who was then coaching theLos Angeles Rams. White played for the Rams for four seasons,1985 to1988. In1987, he rushed for a league-leading 1,387 yards and 11touchdowns, which earned him aPro Bowl selection and theNFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.
White finished his NFL career with 3,075 rushing yards, and 23 rushing touchdowns, along with 114receptions, 860 yards, and one receiving touchdown.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1980 | CLE | 14 | 7 | 86 | 279 | 3.2 | 16 | 5 | 17 | 153 | 9.0 | 31 | 1 |
| 1981 | CLE | 16 | 8 | 97 | 342 | 3.5 | 26 | 1 | 27 | 219 | 8.1 | 21 | 0 |
| 1982 | CLE | 9 | 9 | 69 | 259 | 3.8 | 18 | 3 | 34 | 283 | 8.3 | 36 | 0 |
| 1984 | CLE | 10 | 1 | 24 | 62 | 2.6 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 29 | 5.8 | 17 | 0 |
| 1985 | RAM | 16 | 0 | 70 | 310 | 4.4 | 32 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
| 1986 | RAM | 16 | 0 | 22 | 126 | 5.7 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| 1987 | RAM | 15 | 12 | 324 | 1,374 | 4.2 | 58 | 11 | 23 | 121 | 5.3 | 20 | 0 |
| 1988 | RAM | 12 | 3 | 88 | 323 | 3.7 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 36 | 6.0 | 18 | 0 |
| 108 | 40 | 780 | 3,075 | 3.9 | 58 | 23 | 114 | 860 | 7.5 | 36 | 1 | ||
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 its sixth season's USC vs.Notre Dame alumni special where he also won, giving him a 3-0 record on the show.
During his years at USC, White struggled with cocaine and marijuana use. In a 1987Sports Illustrated article, he admitted to smoking marijuana daily at USC and snorted his first line of cocaine a few weeks before the1977 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 theLos Angeles Rams, where he was reunited withJohn 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 tradedEric Dickerson —- and then running for 100 yards in five straight games afterwards.[7]
White and McGovern eventually divorced. White sold his 1979Heisman Trophy in 2000 to settle tax debts. White had five children, three daughters and two sons.[8]
ALos Angeles Times article on July 17, 2022, byBill Plaschke describes White's struggles withdementia and how he was living in anOrange County, Californiaassisted living facility as of 2022. White could still recall his football days, but had issues with day-to-day functioning; the signs were that his dementia was caused by his career playing football.[9]
White died of liver cancer on January 11, 2023, at the age of 64.[10] He is one of at least 345NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),[11] which is caused by repeated hits to the head.[12][13]