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RIP, Steel Curtain's Dwight White, 58

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/sports/football/07white.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&oref=slogin

Dwight White, 58, Mad Dog of Vaunted Steel Curtain, Is Dead    

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: June 7, 2008

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dwight White, the Steel Curtain defensive end known as Mad Dog who helped lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl titles in the 1970s, died here on Friday. He was 58.

The Steelers said White died after surgery at a Pittsburgh hospital, but did not disclose the cause.

White is the second member of the original four-man Steel Curtain to die this year. Defensive tackle Ernie Holmes died Jan. 17 in a car accident in Texas. The others in the foursome were defensive tackle Joe Greene and defensive end L. C. Greenwood.

White — who played in two Pro Bowls, in 1972 and ’73 — gained his nickname because of his intensity. He was best known for climbing out of a hospital bed to play in the Steelers’ first Super Bowl victory, 16-6, over the Minnesota Vikings in 1975. He lost 18 pounds after learning he had pneumonia and a lung infection, yet played nearly the entire game.

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