Danny White

Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is an American former football quarterback who played for 13 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL).

He was the third major franchise quarterback in Cowboys history, following Roger Staubach and Don Meredith.

White went on to have a stellar career as a quarterback and punter, compiling a 32–4 record, winning three Fiesta Bowls, setting seven NCAA passing records and being named an All-American in 1973, when he led the nation's second rated total offense.

He finished with 6,717 passing yards, 64 touchdowns, 42 interceptions and averaged 41.7 yards per punt.

Besides having his jersey retired, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the State of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame, and the Arizona State University Athletics Hall of Fame.

The Dallas Cowboys selected him in the third round (53rd overall) of the 1974 NFL Draft, but were mainly interested in him as a punter, so he chose to sign with the World Football League's Memphis Southmen for a better offer.

White shared the quarterback position with John 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 21 touchdowns in 30 games, and also led the league in punting his last year.

In 1976, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys after the World Football League folded.

Through 1979, White was the Cowboys' punter and the backup to the team's star quarterback Roger Staubach.

After Staubach's retirement following the end of that season, White became the Cowboys' starting quarterback.

In a memorable 1980 playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons, White led the Cowboys to a come-from-behind 30–27 victory.

White led the Cowboys to three consecutive NFC Championship Games (1980–1982).

He also played in one of the Cowboys' most painful playoff losses against the San Francisco 49ers in the 1981 NFC Championship Game, famous for the Joe 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.

White was 62–30 as a starter, was a second team All-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.

He received Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors in 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.

White was criticized during the 1982 NFL Players Strike by teammate Tony 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.

Fans and teammates alike began to show support for him to be replaced as the Cowboys quarterback by Gary Hogeboom, who had thrown two touchdowns in the 1982 NFC Championship Game (which they lost to the archrival Washington Redskins) after White was knocked out of the game with a concussion.

Even his statistically career-best 1983 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 the NFC Wildcard Playoff game to the Los Angeles Rams.

Until 1984, he continued to serve as the team's punter, making him one of the last starting quarterbacks in NFL history to also start at a different position.

That apparently was enough for him to lose his starting job to Hogeboom at the start of the 1984 season.

Under Hogeboom, the Cowboys looked impressive with a 4–1 start, but then a loss to division rival St. Louis and ineffective plays by Hogeboom convinced coach Tom 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 as quarterback, the Cowboys made it back in 1985 with a 10–6 record.

He punted for the last time in his career once in 1985.

White was also among the last Cowboys quarterbacks in the Tom Landry era, alongside 1988 starter Steve Pelluer.

White primarily played the quarterback position, but occasionally played punter.

Upon his retirement, White coached in the Arena Football League (AFL).

In 2000, he was named Arizona Athlete of the Century by the Arizona 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 included John F. Goodman, Andrew Walter, and Jake Plummer.

He has been the color commentator for Cowboys games on Compass Media Networks' America's Team Radio Network since the 2011 season.

He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils.

A graduate of Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona, White did not receive a lot of notice while being the starter at quarterback, due to his perception as a better baseball prospect.

Frank Kush, then the football head coach at Arizona State University, helped convince Bobby Winkles, the school's baseball coach, to sign White to a scholarship with the provision that he would also play punter for the football team.

During those early years Kush gave him a chance to improve his skills as a quarterback, which eventually would lead him to become the starter midway through his sophomore season, ending up throwing for six touchdowns in a game against the University of New Mexico.