Stan White (linebacker)

Stanley Ray White (born October 24, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL). A defensive leader for the NFL's Baltimore Colts and Detroit Lions, White later became a analyst for televised games of the Baltimore Ravens, successor to the Colts in the league.

Stan White
refer to caption
White in 1977
No. 54, 53, 52
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1949-10-24) October 24, 1949 (age 75)
Dover, Ohio, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:Theodore Roosevelt (Kent, Ohio)
College:Ohio State
NFL draft:1972 / round: 17 / pick: 438
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:153
Starts:139
Interceptions:34
Interception touchdowns:2
Interception yards:428
Stats at Pro Football Reference

White was the first active player to sign with the USFL in 1983 and was named to the All-USFL team during that year.

Early life

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White was born in Dover, Ohio and grew up in Kent, Ohio. White attended Theodore Roosevelt High School. He was the only player in the history of Ohio High School sports to play in the state all-star games for football, basketball, and baseball. He was 1st team All State twice in football, All State in Basketball as a senior averaging 25 points a game, and All State in baseball playing catcher as a senior hitting 0.467 (He pitched a championship game and won 1-0 with 17 strikeouts). Against Ravenna his senior year he scored every way possible: He scored a touchdown and a two point conversion, kicked a field goal and an extra point, and tackled the quarterback in the end zone for a safety. His senior year ten Roosevelt players played both offense and defense, and six of those ended up playing in the NFL. White graduated in 1968.

Football career

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College

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White played college football at Ohio State University, where he was an All-Big Ten and All-American selection.[1] He also played baseball and basketball at OSU. When he left OSU he held the OSU records for career tackles, tackles in a season (1970), and tackles in a game (Michigan State 1970). He also briefly held the record for most extra points kicked in a season(1969).

White was selected in 1972, the 438th player out of 442 taken. White played for the Baltimore Colts and the Detroit Lions. He was named First Team All NFL in 1975 by The Football News, and First Team All NFL in 1977 by The New York Daily News.

White scored two touchdowns, both from interception returns and both for the Colts; the first was in 1973 against the Houston Oilers from a Dan Pastorini interception, the second coming against the New York Giants from a Craig Morton interception in 1975. He was a UPI 1st Team All AFC linebacker in 1977. White still holds the single season NFL record for linebackers of eight interceptions in a season (1975), and is second all-time for linebackers with 34 career interceptions. He is third all-time in takeaways for linebackers with 49, behind Jack Ham and Ray Lewis. He was selected as a linebacker on the Baltimore Colts All-Time Team. He is also the only player n NFL history to have at least seven sacks and seven interceptions in a single season(1977-8 sacks,7 int). In fact only four times has a player had at 6 sacks and 6 interceptions in a season and White did it twice(1975,1977) Rodney Harrison and Dave Duerson are the other two.

White left the NFL after the 1982 season.[2]

USFL

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Following his departure from the Lions, White played in the United States Football League (USFL) for the Chicago Blitz and the Arizona Wranglers, becoming the first active NFL player to sign with the new league. He was All-USFL, and was also selected to the Madden All-Time USFL Team.

Broadcasting and other endeavors

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Since 2006, White has worked as a color analyst for the Baltimore Ravens' radio broadcasts, teaming with Gerry Sandusky, who does the play-by-play, and former Ravens player Qadry Ismail. He also contributes to other programming on Baltimore station WBAL-AM. He previously worked for ESPN, NBC Radio NFL games, and Home Team Sports.

White is a lawyer, graduating magna cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1978.[2] He went at night during the season and full-time in the off season, completing his degree in four years. His first job was with Ron Shapiro, noted sports lawyer. His classmates included sports agents Tom Condon and Tony Agnone.

White's book, If These Walls Could Talk: Baltimore Ravens, published by Triumph Books, was released in October 2017.

Personal life

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White is married to Patty, and has two daughters and a son. Daughter Amanda White was the National Female Athlete of the Year winning the Dial Award. She won the FootLocker National Cross Country Championship and the Mile and Two mile National Championships at the National Indoor Championships at Syracuse and was voted Performer of the meet. She ran and swam at Stanford and won three National Championships. She became a professional triathlete and was in two Olympic trials. Daughter Meghan White was the Maryland Wendy’s High School Athlete of the year her senior year,was the State Two Mile Champion, and ran at UNC and Maryland. Son Stan White, Jr. was a High School All American football player and went on to play at The Ohio State University, winning a National Championship in 2002 and being named a First Team Academic All American his senior year. He became the only OSU football player ever to earn an MBA while still playing.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Kent City Schools Hall of Fame Archives". Kent City Schools. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c Nelson Coffin, "Former Colts Linebacker, Current Ravens Broadcaster Stan White Dishes on Baltimore's Football Franchise," Baltimore Sun, Nov. 1, 2017.
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