Hall of Famers

Reggie White - Class of 2006

• Reggie White Tribute
• Defensive End -- Tennessee
• Height: 6-5
• Weight: 300
• Born: Dec. 19, 1961; Chattanooga, Tenn.
• Passed Away: Dec. 26, 2004; Cornelius, N.C.
• High School: Howard, Chattanooga, Tenn.
• NFL Experience: 15 seasons (1985-98, 2000)
• NFL Teams: Philadelphia Eagles (1985-92), Green Bay Packers (1993-98), Carolina Panthers (2000)
• USFL Experience: Two seasons (1984-85, Memphis Showboats)
• NFL Games Played/Started: 232/228
• Pro Bowl Selections (13): 1986-98

• The most honored athlete ever to play defensive end in the National Football League's long history, Reggie White was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a first-ballot inductee, Feb. 4, 2006
• During a singular and distinguished 15-year NFL career, he earned selection to 13 consecutive Pro Bowls (1986-98), a league record until Bruce Matthews broke the mark in 2002
• Currently ranks second all-time with 198 quarterback sacks
• Long a legitimate icon in his game, White had seen his talents, performance and persona elicit the ultimate in superlatives for more than a decade
• The prepossessing Tennesseean was larger than life, literally and figuratively -- a man apart, both at his position and off the field
• Twice led the NFL in sacks, sharing the NFL record for number of seasons leading the league
• In 1987 (while playing just 12 games due to the players' strike) set an NFC mark, 21 sacks, that stood until the Giants' Michael Strahan eclipsed the total with 22 in 2001
• His nine consecutive seasons with 10-or-more sacks remains an NFL record and his 12 seasons with double-figure sacks is surpassed by only Bruce Smith's 13
• Fritz Shurmur, the late Green Bay defensive coordinator, paid White the ultimate compliment, calling him "the cornerstone and foundation" of the Packers
• Without a due-justice method to adequately measure White's electrifying impact upon the Packers' defense in his six seasons there, the best example was probably 1996
• Under White's leadership that year, Green Bay reached the summit, finishing as the NFL's top-ranked unit for the first time since 1967
• White and his colleagues led the league in fewest points allowed (210) and set an NFL record for fewest touchdowns allowed in a 16-game season (19)
• His unit's rankings consistently held top spots in many defensive categories since his arrival upon the Green Bay scene
• The Green Bay defense soared to second place in 1993 (from a distant 23rd the previous year), when the former Philadelphia Eagles superstar joined the Green and Gold as the most sought-after performer to become available with the advent of unrestricted free agency in the National Football League
• Head coach Mike Holmgren, for one, was able to put the 1993 performance in practical perspective
• White "made us a better football team -- no question about it," Holmgren said, documenting this assertion by noting, "We went from 23 on defense to two -- with no noticeable dramatic personnel changes, except for one man."
• Still at the very top of his game after 13 years, White again saw his on-field superiority documented in 1997 by his selection to the Pro Bowl for an NFL-record 12th straight year, breaking a tie with the San Francisco 49ers' Jerry Rice (1986-96) and the Cincinnati Bengals' Anthony Munoz (1981-91) for the most consecutive times chosen since the 1970 league merger
• Based largely on his then-status as professional football's all-time sacks leader, White earned a distinguished reservation on the National Football League's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in August of 1994
• With 12 career postseason sacks, ranks third in NFL history behind Willie McGinest (16) and Bruce Smith (14)
• Sacked 75 different quarterbacks over his NFL career, including most-frequent victim Phil Simms (15)
• Earlier in his career, he had become the fastest player in league history to record 100 career sacks, reaching the century mark in only 93 games, 21 games faster than No. 2 Lawrence Taylor (114)
• One of the game's most durable performers, he missed a non-strike game for the first time in his career late in the 1995 season (Dec. 10 at Tampa Bay due to a hamstring problem), but was back at his customary stand the following week
• Had played in 166 consecutive 'union' contests to that point, one of the longest such streaks in NFL history
• And, despite assorted injuries one would expect late in the career of a lineman, still started his final 73 games in succession, including playoffs, from the '95 postseason to his final contest in 2000 with the Carolina Panthers
• Was the only player in NFL history to register double-digit sack totals in nine consecutive seasons (1985 through 1993)
• He in 1993 also became the first Packers defensive end chosen to the Pro Bowl since Ezra Johnson in 1978
• Impressively productive since his selection by the Eagles as a first-round pick in the NFL's supplemental draft of USFL players in 1984, White amassed 1,151 tackles (822 solo), including his 198 sacks
• He also posted three interceptions and 57 passes defensed, and forced 32 fumbles and recovered 21, two of the latter for touchdowns
• In addition, he supplemented those contributions by registering two safeties and blocking four kicks (two FGs, one PAT and one punt)
• The only player to be selected by Pro Football Weekly on its 1980s and 1990s All-Decade teams, he customarily lined up at defensive end, but also used his strength and speed to wreak havoc on blocking schemes from various positions along the line during his career
• Launched his pro career with the USFL's Memphis Showboats (1984-85), posting 193 tackles (120 solo) and 23 sacks, and forcing seven fumbles in 34 starts.

• Safeties (2): vs. Washington (12/8/85) and in the playoffs at New Orleans (1/3/93)
• Blocked field goals (2): at N.Y. Giants (10/12/86) and vs. St. Louis Cardinals (12/7/86)
• Blocked PAT: vs. Atlanta (10/30/88)
• Blocked punt: vs. Tampa Bay (10/27/96)
• Touchdowns (2): 70-yard fumble return at Washington (9/13/87) and 37-yard fumble return at Phoenix Cardinals (9/13/92).