Sports / Law
Byron White
1917–2002 · American football halfback; later U.S. Supreme Court justice
Heisman runner-up and NFL rushing leader who played two seasons for the Detroit Lions while attending Yale Law School, before becoming a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
- Born
Wellington, Colorado- Died
Denver, Colorado
aged 84- Birth name
- Byron Raymond White
- Also known as
- Whizzer
- Detroit years
- 1940–1941
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
White was already a celebrated college football star and Rhodes Scholar when he returned from Oxford as World War II loomed and enrolled at Yale Law School. To help pay for his studies, he took a leave from law school and played professional football for the Detroit Lions, first in 1940 and again in 1941, leading the NFL in rushing yards in his rookie professional season just as he had as a Pittsburgh Pirates rookie in 1938. Sportswriters nicknamed him "Whizzer" for his speed. He left the Lions and law school after the 1941 season to serve as a U.S. Navy officer in the Pacific during World War II, then returned to finish his law degree with honors. He went on to a career in law and politics that culminated in his 1962 appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he served for 31 years.
Highlights
- Led the NFL in rushing yards as a Detroit Lions rookie in 1940
- Played for the Lions in both the 1940 and 1941 seasons while at Yale Law School
- Runner-up for the 1937 Heisman Trophy
- Appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Kennedy in 1962