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By ANDRE JOHNSON

Bleacher Report Contributor

On the field, he was considered one of the most-feared and electrifying defensive ends in NFL history, an offensive coordinator's nightmare, unquestionably one of the most fierce and dominant pass rushers of his generation.

Off the field, he was a true ambassador of the league, a gentle giant, a warmhearted humanitarian with a well-publicized and sometimes controversial ministry, one that extended beyond the pulpit and oftentimes, unraveled on street corners in rundown neighborhoods.

Reggie White, the NFL’s second-all time sacks leader whose death one day after Christmas in 2004 stunned virtually the entire sports world, produced a professional football career comprised of a parade of accolades.

Nicknamed the “Minister of Defense” during his senior season at Tennessee because of his Christian ministry as an ordained minister and football smarts, White orchestrated an illustrious 15-year stint that was climaxed with his induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame two years after his demise.

While the 6-foot-5, 300-pound native of Chattanooga was widely known for his tenure as a NFL star, White launched his professional career in Memphis as a member of the Memphis Showboats of the defunct United States Football League. Even before the USFL was forced to cease operations in 1985 after only three seasons, his career appeared headed for being a propitious one.

In two seasons with the Showboats, he started 34 games, amassing 23 ½ sacks, 198 solo tackles, and seven forced fumbles. Though the USFL struggled to duplicate the success of the NFL, its strongest competitor, White’s career never faltered despite the league’s sudden collapse. He was taken fourth overall in the NFL’s supplemental draft in 1984 by Philadelphia, where he spent the next eight seasons.

During his days in Philly, his presence undoubtedly was felt on and off the field.

“Back when he was in Philadelphia, he would always be on the street, with downtrodden people and dealing with the homeless,” said USA Today national NFL reporter Jarrett Bell, who has been covering the league for nearly thirty years. “That was his thing, finding a way to minister to people and trying to get them to realize that he was one of them. For a superstar player, he was an approachable person.”

Bell, who came to know White personally, particularly after the 13-time Pro Bowler signed with the Green Bay Packers in 1993, credited White for helping lure most African- American players to Green Bay during a time when playing there wasn’t a popular trend. White played six seasons for the Packers, leading them to back-to-back Super Bowls, including a 35-21 victory against New England in Super Bowl 31, where he registered a record three sacks.

“He was a signature and dominant player,” Bell said of White. “He was versatile. He could play inside and out. When the Packers won the Super Bowl (in 1997), Brett Favre

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