 White on a 1954 Bowman football card | |||||||||||||
| No. 33, 90 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Halfback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1928-09-26)September 26, 1928 Mesa, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | August 1, 2013(2013-08-01) (aged 84) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 172 lb (78 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Mesa | ||||||||||||
| College | Arizona State (1947–1950) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1951: 3rd round, 36th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Wilford Parley "Whizzer"White (September 26, 1928 – August 1, 2013) was an American professionalfootball player who was ahalfback for theChicago Bears of theNational Football League (NFL). He also was a member of theToronto Argonauts in theCanadian Football League (CFL). He was selected by theChicago Bears in the third round of the1951 NFL draft. He playedcollege football for theArizona State Sun Devils and became the school's firstCollege Football All-American.
White was born inMesa, Arizona.[1][2] He attendedMesa High School, where he was a multi-sport athlete and a stand-out intrack and field.[3] In football, he received first-team All-State honors as a junior and senior.
He led his school to the state title in his final season, while rushing for 181 yards per game, which was a state record that lasted 46 years. He was known as "The Mesa Meteor" and "The Wizard of the Harmonica", until receiving the nickname "Whizzer" by the media.
White accepted a football scholarship fromArizona State University,[4] leading the team in rushing from 1947 to 1950, with a total of 3,173 yards. In 1950, he had a season for the ages, his 1,502 yards rushing total (150.2 yards per game) led the nation and still ranks second in school history for a season. He also scored 22touchdowns and 136 points, which ranked third in the nation and still are school single-season records. White was the second player incollege football history to run for so many yards in a season, becoming the first football player from Arizona State University to be namedAll-American.[5]
In 1951 White participated in theCollege All-Star Game and theEast–West Shrine Game. He is considered one of the greatestrunning backs in school history, with many of his records still standing.[6]
He also practicedbasketball and thedecathlon, where he finished fifth and sixth nationally as a junior and senior behind OlympianBob Mathias. He was inducted into the Arizona State University Athletics Hall of Fame, the Sun Devil Ring of Honor and had his jersey number retired (33).
White was selected by theChicago Bears in the third round (36th overall) of the1951 NFL draft and played two seasons in theNFL, until suffering a knee injury.[7]
Perhaps White's most famous play was when, asquarterback, White ran backwards over 48 yards when being pursued byLos Angeles Rams defenders. White ended up fumbling the ball at the one yard line, and a Rams defender recovered it and ran it in for a touchdown. In theNFL Films video,100 Greatest Follies, White's play was named the #3 greatest folly of all time. His son,Danny White, said that he saw film of the play once when he was younger, then didn't see it again for years until NFL Films showed it to him. Danny joked that White was probably so embarrassed about the play that he obtained every possible copy of the play's film so that nobody would see it.
White's sonDanny White was aPro Bowlquarterback for theDallas Cowboys and later head coach of theArizona Rattlers of theArena Football League. His grandsonMax Hall also played quarterback in theNFL. On August 1, 2013, he died of aheart attack en route to a Phoenix-area hospital.[8]