The Cal 100: No. 73 -- Ed White

A star defensive lineman at Cal, White became a 17-year NFL standout on the offensive line, and since then has become an accomplished artist.

We count down the top 100 individuals associated with Cal athletics, based on their impact in sports or in the world at large – a wide-open category. See if you agree.

No. 73: Ed White

Cal Sports Connection: White was a consensus first-team All-America nose guard in 1968 while anchoring Cal's "Bear Minimum" defense.

Claim to Fame: He went on to play 17 NFL seasons as an offensive lineman and since football has devoted himself to pursuing art.

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Ed White was a talented enough football player that after earning All-America honors as a defensive lineman at Cal, he switched to the offensive line and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection during an enduring 17-year NFL career.

White, who landed the No. 73 spot in The Cal 100, was so good that former San Diego Chargers star quarterback Dan Fouts has campaigned for him to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“When he retired, nobody had played in more games (241) as an offensive lineman than Ed White,” Fouts said. “They don’t have many statistics for offensive linemen other than Pro Bowls and Super Bowls, but Ed would be a leader.

“He was one of the most feared offensive linemen in the game. You talk to guys like Howie Long and Matt Millen, who had to go against Big Ed. They hated it.”

Randy White and Reggie White are in the Pro Football Hall, but not Ed White. That’s not to say he’s been ignored: Ed White has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame, the East-West Shrine Game Hall of Fame, the San Diego Breitbard Hall of Fame and the Chargers Hall of Fame.

Ed White at Cal / Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

He also was voted onto the Pac-12 All Century Football team and was named one of the 50 Greatest Minnesota Vikings.

Raised in the San Diego area, White made his name at Cal as a 6-foot-1, 269-pound nose guard. He anchored the so-called “Bear Minimum” defense in 1968 that allowed opponents just 3.6 yards per snap and 10.4 points per game his senior in 1968. The Bears assembled a 7-3-1 record by limiting eight of their 11 opponents to 12 points or fewer.

In addition to earning consensus All-America honors that season, White joined defensive teammates Mike McCaffrey and Ken Wiedemann as first-team All-Pac-8 selections.

Chosen in the second round of the 1969 NFL draft by the Vikings, White was moved to the offensive line. He became a starter midway through his second season and wound up in the opening lineup 210 times for Minnesota and San Diego.

He is one of 11 players to have appeared in all four Vikings’ Super Bowl games from 1969 through 1976. White was a Pro Bowl pick for Minnesota in 1975-76-77 and a second-team All-Pro in 1974-75-76.

Traded to the Chargers after the ’77 campaign, White started 117 of 119 games over eight seasons before retiring in 1985. He was both a Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro pick for San Diego in ’79.

White coached after his playing days, including the Cal offensive line from 1999 through 2001. Now 76, he has devoted much of his post-football years to his career as an artist.

His painting: "White on White" / EdWhitefootball.com

He first became infatuated with art at the age of 6 when he entered a competition where contestants were asked to draw an image of a horse in a magazine advertisement.

“I got a note back saying my entry was rejected because I traced it,” White told the San Diego Union-Tribune in an 2022 interview. He had not traced it and he was insulted by their assumption.

While White incorporates football into some of his paintings, his family camping experiences as a child created a love for the outdoors. He describes his work as “Environmental Abstract Contemporary.” 

“I realized there is a spirituality to nature, and it represents the lifeblood of all living things,” he told the Union-Tribune.

White’s work can be found at www.edwhiteart.com and www.edwhitefootball.com.

-- No. 74: Mike Montgomery

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Cover photo of Ed White blocking Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus from www.edwhitefootball.com

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo