Nothing could keep Dwight White from playing in Super Bowl IX for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not a week in the hospital with pneumonia. Not a lung infection. He lost 18 pounds but showed up to play. The Vikings ran seven of their first eight running plays at him and gained no yards. Mad Dog sacked Fran Tarkenton for a safety, accounting for the only points scored in the first half of the game, and the first points scored by the Steelers in a Super Bowl. He was a part of the Steel Curtain for the four Super Bowl victories in the 70s.
Dwight White died on Friday after surgery in Pittsburgh. Ernie “Fats” Holmes, another member of the Steel Curtain, died in January after an automobile accident. The two remaining members of the defensive line from that era are L.C. “Hollywood Bags” Greenwood and Joe “Mean Joe” Greene.