By: REUBEN FRANK (Sun, Aug/06/2006)
CANTON, Ohio— Sara White stayed composed until she and 20-year-old son Jeremy pulled away the cloth to reveal the bronze bust of her husband.
For the first time, she saw the image of Reggie White that will sit in the Pro Football Hall of Fame forever. She saw the striking rendering of her husband's face — strong, compassionate, courageous — staring out into the cheering crowd at Saturday's Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony.
Then came the tears.
White embraced her son and wept as 15,000 fans attending the 44th Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Fawcett Stadium stood and roared for the greatest defensive end in NFL history.
“Today would have been the best day of Reggie's life, besides watching the birth of his two children,” Sara White said.
On a spectacular afternoon at the birthplace of professional football, Sara White became the first wife in Hall of Fame history to represent her husband at the enshrinement ceremony.
White's family was a big part of the ceremony, with 18-year-old daughter Jecolia singing the national anthem and 20-year-old son Jeremy presenting Sara White.
“He lived a full life,” Sara White said. “He lived 43 years. He's done so many things that people have not done at 70 years old. ... Reggie was no phony. He stood for what he believed in.”
White was 43 when he died on Dec. 26, 2004, at his home in Cornelius, N.C. Thirteen months later he was unanimously voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. On Saturday, he took his place among the greats of the game.
“I am saddened by the absence of Reggie White,” Troy Aikman said in his acceptance speech. “He was an amazing player and an even better man who left us way too soon.”
It was Reggie White the man, the minister and the father who Sara and Jeremy White both focused on during their talks yesterday.
“He always used to say that after he passed away he wanted people to remember what he did away from the football field rather than being remembered for the records he broke, the games he won, the quarterbacks he sacked,” Jeremy said.
“Reggie will always be remembered as the man he was: a compassionate father, a loving husband, a selfless friend and a loyal teammate. Reggie will be remembered by some as the man who sacked quarterbacks on Sunday, but to others he will be remembered for his faith in God. He wanted to be a preacher and he wanted to be a football player since he was 10 years old. I'd say he came a long way in both professions.”
Sara White said she's asked often how she's managed to deal with her husband's untimely death.
“People ask how I've made it,” she said. “How are you so strong? How can you be so happy? Well, I have to be. You can't just lay down.”
Jeremy, in his brief remarks, spoke eloquently about how his father lives on in the memories of those he inspired.
“I know he is with us,” Jeremy White said. “He is with us in spirit, but most of all he is with us in our memories. As long as we continue to remember anyone we've lost, they are never completely gone. They are with us.
“The legacy he leaves behind is what he taught everyone he met. He will live on through everything he taught. If people can remember anyone they've lost, they will realize that memories should bring joy, not sadness.”
Because Sara White invited only two of White's former teammates — Michael Haddix and Greg Brown, neither of whom attended — the Buddy Ryan Eagles of the late 1980s were not represented yesterday.
No Seth Joyner, Clyde Simmons, Andre Waters, Wes Hopkins, Randall Cunningham or Keith Byars.
Eagles owner Jeff Lurie, who got to know White fairly well, did bring eight current Eagles out yesterday morning on his private jet.
“I want to thank the guys for coming out,” Sara said during her address. “I do appreciate that.”
Those eight players — Donovan McNabb, Brian Dawkins, Jeremiah Trotter, Jon Runyan, David Akers, William (Tra) Thomas and Mike Bartrum (who played with White in Green Bay) — each wore White No. 92 replica Eagles jerseys during the ceremony.
“To be here to represent the Philadelphia Eagles is very special,” McNabb said. “You hear so much about bad things that go on involving athletes. But there was a guy who kept his nose clean, never got in trouble, spoke from his heart, was an emotional player, an emotional person and a role model your kids could look up to.”
White recorded 124 sacks in 121 games as an Eagle and had an NFL-record 198 sacks when he retired after spending the 2000 season with the Panthers.
He was picked to 13 consecutive Pro Bowls, led the NFL in sacks twice, won a Super Bowl in 1996 with the Packers, and has had his number retired by both the Eagles and Packers.
“It's a huge day for the franchise when arguably the greatest player in the history of the franchise goes into the Hall of Fame,” said Lurie, who bought the Eagles from Norman Braman in 1994, a year after White left the Eagles and signed with the Packers.
“He was somebody who was unanimously loved and respected as a player and a person, as a father and a husband, on the field, off the field. What more can you ask for?”
Reuben Frank can be reached at rfrank@phillyBurbs.com.
________________________________________
Article's URL:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/99-08062006-694127.html
CANTON, Ohio— Sara White stayed composed until she and 20-year-old son Jeremy pulled away the cloth to reveal the bronze bust of her husband.
For the first time, she saw the image of Reggie White that will sit in the Pro Football Hall of Fame forever. She saw the striking rendering of her husband's face — strong, compassionate, courageous — staring out into the cheering crowd at Saturday's Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony.
Then came the tears.
White embraced her son and wept as 15,000 fans attending the 44th Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Fawcett Stadium stood and roared for the greatest defensive end in NFL history.
“Today would have been the best day of Reggie's life, besides watching the birth of his two children,” Sara White said.
On a spectacular afternoon at the birthplace of professional football, Sara White became the first wife in Hall of Fame history to represent her husband at the enshrinement ceremony.
White's family was a big part of the ceremony, with 18-year-old daughter Jecolia singing the national anthem and 20-year-old son Jeremy presenting Sara White.
“He lived a full life,” Sara White said. “He lived 43 years. He's done so many things that people have not done at 70 years old. ... Reggie was no phony. He stood for what he believed in.”
White was 43 when he died on Dec. 26, 2004, at his home in Cornelius, N.C. Thirteen months later he was unanimously voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. On Saturday, he took his place among the greats of the game.
“I am saddened by the absence of Reggie White,” Troy Aikman said in his acceptance speech. “He was an amazing player and an even better man who left us way too soon.”
It was Reggie White the man, the minister and the father who Sara and Jeremy White both focused on during their talks yesterday.
“He always used to say that after he passed away he wanted people to remember what he did away from the football field rather than being remembered for the records he broke, the games he won, the quarterbacks he sacked,” Jeremy said.
“Reggie will always be remembered as the man he was: a compassionate father, a loving husband, a selfless friend and a loyal teammate. Reggie will be remembered by some as the man who sacked quarterbacks on Sunday, but to others he will be remembered for his faith in God. He wanted to be a preacher and he wanted to be a football player since he was 10 years old. I'd say he came a long way in both professions.”
Sara White said she's asked often how she's managed to deal with her husband's untimely death.
“People ask how I've made it,” she said. “How are you so strong? How can you be so happy? Well, I have to be. You can't just lay down.”
Jeremy, in his brief remarks, spoke eloquently about how his father lives on in the memories of those he inspired.
“I know he is with us,” Jeremy White said. “He is with us in spirit, but most of all he is with us in our memories. As long as we continue to remember anyone we've lost, they are never completely gone. They are with us.
“The legacy he leaves behind is what he taught everyone he met. He will live on through everything he taught. If people can remember anyone they've lost, they will realize that memories should bring joy, not sadness.”
Because Sara White invited only two of White's former teammates — Michael Haddix and Greg Brown, neither of whom attended — the Buddy Ryan Eagles of the late 1980s were not represented yesterday.
No Seth Joyner, Clyde Simmons, Andre Waters, Wes Hopkins, Randall Cunningham or Keith Byars.
Eagles owner Jeff Lurie, who got to know White fairly well, did bring eight current Eagles out yesterday morning on his private jet.
“I want to thank the guys for coming out,” Sara said during her address. “I do appreciate that.”
Those eight players — Donovan McNabb, Brian Dawkins, Jeremiah Trotter, Jon Runyan, David Akers, William (Tra) Thomas and Mike Bartrum (who played with White in Green Bay) — each wore White No. 92 replica Eagles jerseys during the ceremony.
“To be here to represent the Philadelphia Eagles is very special,” McNabb said. “You hear so much about bad things that go on involving athletes. But there was a guy who kept his nose clean, never got in trouble, spoke from his heart, was an emotional player, an emotional person and a role model your kids could look up to.”
White recorded 124 sacks in 121 games as an Eagle and had an NFL-record 198 sacks when he retired after spending the 2000 season with the Panthers.
He was picked to 13 consecutive Pro Bowls, led the NFL in sacks twice, won a Super Bowl in 1996 with the Packers, and has had his number retired by both the Eagles and Packers.
“It's a huge day for the franchise when arguably the greatest player in the history of the franchise goes into the Hall of Fame,” said Lurie, who bought the Eagles from Norman Braman in 1994, a year after White left the Eagles and signed with the Packers.
“He was somebody who was unanimously loved and respected as a player and a person, as a father and a husband, on the field, off the field. What more can you ask for?”
Reuben Frank can be reached at rfrank@phillyBurbs.com.
________________________________________
Article's URL:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/99-08062006-694127.html
0 comments:
Post a Comment