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Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aquarterback andpunter for 13 seasons with theDallas Cowboys of theNational Football League (NFL). He was the third major franchise quarterback in Cowboys history, followingRoger Staubach andDon Meredith. White was 62–30 as a starter, was a second teamAll-Pro selection in 1982, and led the Cowboys to five playoff appearances, with three consecutive appearances in the NFC Championship game from 1980 to 1982. White was also among the last Cowboys quarterbacks in theTom Landry era, alongside 1988 starterSteve Pelluer.

Upon his retirement, White coached in theArena Football League (AFL). He has been thecolor commentator for Cowboys games onCompass Media Networks' America's Team Radio Network since the2011 season.^[1] He playedcollege football for theArizona State Sun Devils.

A graduate ofWestwood High School in Mesa, Arizona, White did not receive a lot of notice while being the starter atquarterback, due to his perception as a betterbaseball prospect.

Frank Kush, then thefootball head coach atArizona State University, helped convinceBobby Winkles, the school'sbaseball coach, to sign White to a scholarship with the provision that he would also playpunter for thefootball team. During those early years Kush gave him a chance to improve his skills as aquarterback, which eventually would lead him to become the starter midway through his sophomore season, ending up throwing for sixtouchdowns in a game against theUniversity of New Mexico.

White went on to have a stellar career as aquarterback andpunter, compiling a 32–4 record, winning threeFiesta Bowls, setting seven NCAA passing records and being named anAll-American in 1973, when he led the nation's second rated total offense. He finished with 6,717 passing yards, 64touchdowns, 42 interceptions and averaged 41.7 yards perpunt.^[2]

Besides having his jersey retired, he was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame, the State of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame, and theArizona State University Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2000, he was named Arizona Athlete of the Century by theArizona Republic. He also was an inaugural member of Dunham and Miller Hall of Fame.

On October 29, 2010, White was honored, along with other Sun Devil Quarterbacks, at a Legends Luncheon hosted by the Arizona State University Alumni Association and Sun Devil Club. Other honorees includedJohn F. Goodman,Andrew Walter, andJake Plummer.^[3]

TheDallas Cowboys selected him in the third round (53rd overall) of the1974 NFL draft, but were mainly interested in him as apunter, so he chose to sign with theWorld Football League'sMemphis Southmen for a better offer.

White shared thequarterback position withJohn Huarte, helping his team reach the semifinals as a rookie and a second-place finish in 1975. During these two years, he passed for 2,635 yards and 21touchdowns in 30 games, and also led the league in punting his last year.^[4]

In1976, he signed with theDallas Cowboys after theWorld Football League folded. Through1979, White was the Cowboys'punter and the backup to the team's star quarterbackRoger Staubach. After Staubach's retirement following the end of that season, White became the Cowboys'starting quarterback. Until 1984, he continued to serve as the team's punter, making him one of the last startingquarterbacks in NFL history to also start at a different position. He punted for the last time in his career once in 1985.

In a memorable1980 playoff game against theAtlanta Falcons, White led the Cowboys to a come-from-behind 30–27 victory. He also played in one of the Cowboys' most painful playoff losses against theSan Francisco 49ers in the1981 NFC Championship Game, famous for theJoe Montana-to-Dwight Clark game-winning play, which would simply come to be known as "The Catch". White threw for 173 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT, and his passer rating in the game was actually higher than Montana's, 98.1 vs. 81.4. He receivedPro Bowl and second-teamAll-Pro honors in1982.

White led the Cowboys to three consecutiveNFC Championship Games (1980–1982). The Cowboys were favored to win all three games even though they played on the road against the NFC's top seeded team in each game - even, oddly, in 1982 when the Cowboys' and Redskins' regular season records were 6-3 and 8-1 respectively. White received criticism, some unfairly, after the Cowboys lost all three games.^[5][6] White was criticized during the1982 NFL Players Strike by teammateTony Dorsett for crossing the picket line citing financial reasons, though Dorsett himself was criticized for crossing the picket line with his own financial concerns soon after.^[7] Fans and teammates alike began to show support for him to be replaced as the Cowboys quarterback byGary Hogeboom, who had thrown two touchdowns in the1982 NFC Championship Game (which they lost to the archrivalWashington Redskins) after White was knocked out of the game with aconcussion. Even his statistically career-best1983 season failed to silence the critics, after ending it with consecutive blowout losses to the Redskins (at home) and the 49ers after a 12–2 start. To add insult to injury, the Cowboys lost theNFC Wildcard Playoff game to theLos Angeles Rams. That apparently was enough for him to lose his starting job to Hogeboom at the start of the1984 season. Under Hogeboom, the Cowboys looked impressive with a 4–1 start, but then a loss to division rivalSt. Louis and ineffective plays by Hogeboom convinced coachTom Landry to reinstate White as his starter. The Cowboys finished 9–7, but missed the playoffs in 1984 for the first time in a decade; but with White asquarterback, the Cowboys made it back in1985 with a 10–6 record. However, they lost again to theLos Angeles Rams in the playoffs.

In1986, the Cowboys started 6–2, had the #1 offense in theNFL, were tied for the lead in theNFC Eastern Division and White was also the number one rated passer in the NFC at that point in the season. During an away game againstBill Parcells'sNew York Giants, however, a blind-sidesack by GiantslinebackerCarl Banks broke White's throwing wrist and tore ligaments, knocking him out of the game and ending his season. Dallas lost the game, 17–14, and without him the team faded badly, finishing the year 7–9 and the Cowboys first losing season since1965.

White returned as the starter at the beginning of1987, but after inconsistent play, he was benched in favor ofSteve Pelluer for 4 of the final 6 games. In1988, Pelluer won the starting job intraining camp, relegating White as a backup. White appeared briefly in only two games, and in his second game he suffered a season-ending knee injury. An option on his contract was not picked up in April1989 and he announced his retirement on July 12, 1989, paving the way for the recently draftedTroy Aikman to take the reins of the by-then struggling franchise.^[8]

White had 1,761 completions on 2,950 attempts for 21,959 yards, 155touchdowns, and 132 interceptions in his career. He also gained 482 yards and scored 8touchdowns rushing. Unusual for aquarterback, he had two pass receptions fortouchdowns, both from ahalfback option pass. Onspecial teams he punted 610 times for 24,509 yards, an average of 40.4 yards per punt, with 144 punts inside the 20 and 77 touchbacks. His record as the Cowboys' startingquarterback was 62–30 (.659 winning percentage) during the regular season, and 5–5 in the playoffs.

BeingRoger Staubach's successor and never reaching aSuper Bowl as a starting quarterback contributed to White's being an unappreciated player, even considering all of the successes he achieved for the Cowboys and theNFL during the decade of the eighties.^[9] "I don't think anybody could have followed Roger and done as well as Danny", CoachTom Landry remarked, "Danny was a solid winner."^[10]

White's career as acoach began shortly after his playing days ended. This is appropriate considering that, while an active player, he was widely regarded—like Staubach before him—as knowledgeable of the game and as something of a coach on the field. He also began working as a broadcast commentator during his coaching career, which was possible because he coachedArena football, which is played during the outdoor game's off-season.

White served as the head coach of theArizona Rattlers from1992 to2004, winning theArenaBowl championship in1994 and1997. White's contract was not renewed by the new Rattlers ownership after the2004 season following three consecutiveArenaBowl losses. He was named thehead coach of theArena Football League expansionUtah Blaze, which began play in2006. He led his teams to the playoffs in 10 of 11 seasons, including two championships (1994 and1997), finishing with a 162–95 record as a head coach.

In 2002, he was inducted into theArena Football League Hall of Fame in recognition for his coaching success.

White's father,Wilford "Whizzer" White (no relation toByron White, who also was nicknamed "Whizzer" and playedAmerican football), was the first Arizona State UniversityAll-American football player and still ranks third in school history with 1,502 rushing yards in a season (1950),^[11] he also playedhalfback for theChicago Bears from 1951 to 1952.^[12]

In 1983, White briefly recorded as acountry music artist for the Grand Prix label. His only single, "You're a Part of Me", a duet with Linda Nail, reached #85 on theHot Country Songs charts.^[13]

White and his wife, JoLynn, have four children, Ryan (d. 2015), Geoff, Heather and Reed, and sixteen grandchildren. He now makes corporate appearances andmotivational speeches. JoLynn died on August 15, 2016. White is currently married to Linda L. Bang. In recent years he has been seen on TV doing ADT security infomercials.^[14]

White is a member ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.^[15]

• List of NCAA major college football yearly passing leaders

• Official website
• Danny White at theCollege Football Hall of Fame
• Career statistics fromNFL.com · Pro Football Reference
• Coaching Page on ArenaFan.com

• 1952 births
• Living people
• American football punters
• American football quarterbacks
• American Latter Day Saints
• Arena football announcers
• Arizona Rattlers head coaches
• Arizona State Sun Devils football players
• College Football Hall of Fame inductees
• Dallas Cowboys announcers
• Dallas Cowboys players
• Memphis Southmen players
• National Conference Pro Bowl players
• NFL announcers
• Players of American football from Mesa, Arizona
• Utah Blaze coaches

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