John T. White (July 10, 1920 – November 21, 2005) was a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

assistant

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, and a second-team 1947 College Football All-American

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who played for

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

teams at both the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. White also played basketball for the

Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball The Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represents The Ohio State University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Buckeyes are a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes play their home games at Value City Arena in ...

team. Although White was drafted to play professional football, he chose to pursue a career as an assistant football coach for both the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

and

Penn State Nittany Lions football The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 afte ...

teams. He served as an assistant coach for a national champion at Michigan and three undefeated and untied seasons at Penn State. White served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

causing a break in his collegiate education.

Personal

White was born in

Wadley, Georgia Wadley is a city in Jefferson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,061 at the 2010 census. History The community was named for William Morill Wadley, a railroad official. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Wadley as a town ...

and raised in

River Rouge, Michigan River Rouge (, french: link=no, Rivière Rouge, translation=red river) is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,224 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city is named aft ...

. White earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in education from Michigan in 1948. He earned his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in education at Michigan. White married the former Verna McQueen, and they had one son, Brian. Verna and White were married for 53 years before she died at 75 in October 1997 of

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

Athletic career

At River Rouge High School he played baseball, basketball and football before attending Ohio State. In 1942, he lettered in both basketball and football at Ohio State as a sophomore. He was a player for national champions on both the

1942 Ohio State Buckeyes football team The 1942 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented Ohio State University in the Big Ten Conference during the 1942 season. In their second season under head coach Paul Brown, the team compiled a 9–1 recor ...

and the

1947 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1947 Big Nine Conference football season. In its tenth year under head coach Fritz Crisler, Michigan compiled a perfect 10–0 record, won the Big Ten C ...

. He is one of only three players (along with

Justin Boren Justin Matthew Boren (born April 28, 1988) is a former American football guard. Though a guard in the NFL, Boren played both guard and center during his high school and college football career. In high school, he was widely regarded as one of t ...

and

Howard Yerges Howard Frederick Yerges Jr. (April 5, 1925 – December 24, 2000) was an American college football player who played quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team in 1943 and the University of Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1944 ...

) to have played for the football teams of both Michigan and Ohio State; this low number can be attributed to the strong rivalry between the two schools. White matriculated at

, where he earned a

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

playing for

Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Clevela ...

's 1942 team. White played at Ohio State for two years. He served in the

from 1943 to 1945 during

and lettered two years for

Fritz Crisler Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler (; January 12, 1899 – August 19, 1982) was an American college football coach who is best known as "the father of two-platoon football," an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and d ...

's Michigan teams. His younger brother,

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

at Michigan when White transferred. J. T. was the starting center for the 1946 and 1947 teams. The

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

named him as their second-team All-American center for the

1947 college football season The 1947 college football season finished with Notre Dame, Michigan, and Penn State all unbeaten and untied, but the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame were the first place choice for 107 of the 142 voters in the final AP Poll in early December, and re ...

. White played in the 1948 College All-Star Game, and he was drafted by two pro teams: the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

with the first pick of the 21st round (186th overall) in the

1947 NFL Draft The 1947 National Football League Draft was held on December 16, 1946, at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, New York. The National Football League in this draft made the first overall pick, a bonus pick determined by lottery. The Chicago B ...

and the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

of the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

Coaching career

He chose to join

Bennie Oosterbaan Benjamin Oosterbaan ( ; February 24, 1906 – October 25, 1990) was a three-time first team All-American football end for the Michigan Wolverines football team, two-time All-American basketball player for the basketball team, and an All-Big Ten C ...

's Michigan coaching staff for six years (1948–53), including the national champion

1948 Michigan Wolverines football team Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form Britis ...

. Then, for 26 seasons, from 1954 through 1979, J.T. was a

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

coach at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

, first under

Rip Engle Charles A. "Rip" Engle (March 26, 1906 – March 7, 1983) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Brown University from 1944 to 1949 and at Pennsylvania State University from ...

and then under

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

, who took over in 1966. When White moved to Penn State to work for Engle, the staff included Paterno,

Earle Bruce Earle Bruce (March 8, 1931 – April 20, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Tampa (1972), Iowa State University (1973–1978), Ohio State University (1979–1987), the University of N ...

, Sever Toretti,

Jim O'Hora James Joseph O’Hora (February 16, 1915 – August 5, 2005) was an American college football coach for over 30 years. Biography Early years O’Hora was born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. His father, Michael, was an immigrant from Ballina, County ...

and Jim Patrick. His tenure on the staff included three undefeated and untied seasons (

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

and

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

). Subsequently, from 1980–1982, he served as assistant to the Penn State Athletic Director.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, J. T. 1920 births 2005 deaths American football centers Michigan Wolverines football coaches Michigan Wolverines football players Ohio State Buckeyes football players Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers People from Wadley, Georgia People from River Rouge, Michigan Players of American football from Wayne County, Michigan

Personal

Athletic career

Coaching career

See also

References