Editing Byron White (section)

=== Professional football ===
White came into the National Football League with the then-[[Pittsburgh Pirates (football)|Pirates]] in the summer of 1938 as a widely-heralded college star.<ref name=Shake>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press-football-pirates-sh/160355046/ "Football Pirates Shake Off Detroit Lions Bump for Tomorrow's Opener,"] ''Pittsburgh Press,'' Sept. 10, 1938, p. 10.</ref> The $15,800 contract he had signed made White the NFL's highest-paid player.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Los Angeles Times 07 Aug 1978, page 3 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/384183844/ |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Freedman |first=Lew |title=Pittsburgh Steelers: The Complete Illustrated History |publisher=MBI Publishing Company LLC |year=2009 |isbn=9780760336458 |location=United States |chapter=1930s: Getting started}}</ref> About his first game, one Pittsburgh journalist said he "looked better as an individual than the Pirates did as a team".<ref name="Shake" /> Despite leading the NFL in rushing yards in [[1938 NFL season|1938]],<ref>White gained 567 yards on the ground in 1938, leading the league's second best runner, [[Tuffy Leemans]] by more than 100 yards. See: Carl L. Storck (ed.), ''Official Guide of the National Football League 1939.'' New York: American Sports Publishing Co., 1939; pp. 53–54.</ref> White did not appear for the [[1939 Detroit Lions season|1939 season]].<ref>Tod Maher and Bob Gill (eds.), ''The Pro Football Encyclopedia: The Complete and Definitive Record of Professional Football.'' New York: Macmillan USA, 1997; p. 842.</ref> He would reappear for the [[Detroit Lions]] in [[1940 Detroit Lions season|1940]] and would again top the world of "postgraduate football" with a league-leading performance in rushing.<ref>{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Charles B. |title=Byron Raymond White (1917–2002) One of the Greatest |url=https://www.cobar.org/Portals/COBAR/TCL/AugSept2018/ATB_ProfilesinSuccess.pdf |website=Colorado Lawyer p. 77. |publisher=The Colorado Bar |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref>

White played a total of three NFL seasons — 33 games in all.<ref>[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WhitWh00.htm Whizzer White Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College] ''Whizzer White statistics'', Pro Football Reference, www.pro-football-reference.com</ref> He led the league in rushing twice during that short interval, and was elected the NFL's first team [[All-Pro]] [[halfback (gridiron football)|right halfback]] in 1940.<ref>George Strickler (ed.), ''Roster and Record Manual 1941.'' Chicago: National Football League, 1941; p. 68.</ref>