The USC Trojans got some unfortunate news with the passing of legendary running back and Heisman Trophy winner Charles White on Wednesday evening.
The stories of White will surely circulate for some time, and there are a lot of details to discuss when evaluating his storied football career.
Over the summer, Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times wrote a deep feature about White, and there are quite a few things to examine from that piece.
Here’s one of them from the perspective of Mike Bohn:
“White’s one big trip a year is an escorted flight to Chicago to sign autographs and supplement his income. He could handle a day trip to USC. And it turns out, he just might get one,” Plaschke wrote.
“When Trojans athletic director Mike Bohn was contacted about this column, the door swung wide open. Bohn immediately requested contact information and welcomed a reconnection.”
Mike Bohn spoke about Charles White in Plaschke’s story:
“Charles White’s Heisman Trophy is prominently displayed on our campus, and I know that the memories and thrills he provided live on in Trojans around the world,” Bohn said. “I look forward to learning more about the challenges in his life. The opportunity to understand our former athletes and grow with them is very important to us.”
Plaschke concluded his piece with a quote from White about the “Fight On” gesture, and how instantly it not only gave happiness to White in his later years, but how it enabled him to remain connected to both USC and to the memories he forged on the football field:
“There it is!” the Heisman Trophy winner says, strongly sticking out both fingers on both hands, waving them in the air, the glorious memories seemingly flooding back. “All you have to do is do that, they know who you are.”
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