Remembering Reggie White

December 26, 2012 | Monty McMahon |

It was on this day — December 26 — that one of the Green Bay Packers and NFL’s all-time greats, defensive end Reggie White passed away unexpectedly in 2004.

White, who died from cardiac arrhythmia, retired from football just four years earlier, when he played his final and lone season with the Carolina Panthers.

Prior to that, White helped put Green Bay back on the NFL map. He signed with the Packers in 1993, after eight seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.

White is arguably the biggest free agent signing in history and he signed with the Packers at a time when they were struggling to win and struggling to be relevant in the NFL. They became immediately relevant and started to win with regularity when general manager Ron Wolf added White to a group that included quarterback Brett Favre and coach Mike Holmgren.

In six seasons with the Packers, White was a Pro Bowler six times, a first-team All-Pro three times and won one defensive player of the year award. He recorded 69.5 sacks with the Packers and helped the team win its first Super Bowl since the ’60s when they defeated New England in Super Bowl XXXI.

White’s number 92 is one of only five the Packers have retired.

Here are some of White’s many accomplishments:

13-time Pro Bowler
10-time first-team All Pro
Two-time defensive player of the year
1990s All-Decade Team
1980s All-Decade Team
NFL 75th Anniversary Team
198 career sacks
Pro Football Hall of Fame