Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

    The tribute page never stops growing and we are back to honor a few recent persons of note that have left us.

Goodbye to William White at the age of 56.

The former Ohio State Buckeye defensive back spent eleven seasons in the NFL for three teams after being named captain in his senior season of 1987.

White started a Super Bowl with the Atlanta Falcons in the 1998 season and finished his career with twenty interceptions.

White's son Brendon played four years for Ohio State and was the defensive MVP in the 2019 Rose Bowl win over Washington.

Goodbye to Charles Johnson at the age of 50.

Selected by Pittsburgh in the first round in the 1994 draft, from Colorado, Johnson spent the first five of his nine-year career with the Steelers and seemed to be about to enter elite status in his final season in Pittsburgh, where he caught 65 passes, seven touchdowns (both career highs), finished with over 800 receiving yards and would then sign the largest receiver contract of the following free agency period with the Eagles.

Johnson's numbers in two seasons with the Eagles were disappointing for the expenditure that Philadelphia invested in him. He would play one season each with New England and Buffalo, catching only seventeen passes over that time.

Goodbye to Dwight Smith Sr. at the age of 58.

Smith Sr. the father of former Baltimore and Toronto outfielder Dwight Jr, finished second in the 1989 National League Rookie of the Year voting, finishing second to teammate Jerome Walton for the award after hitting .324 for the NL East champions.

Smith never received that type of playing time again and spent the remainder of his career as a platoon outfielder and pinch-hitter for the Cubs and three other teams, winning a World Series as part of the 1995 Atlanta Braves.

Smith finished his career with a final average of .275 when he retired in 1997.

Goodbye to Lars Tate at the age of 56.

A second-round draft pick by Tampa Bay in 1988, Tate led Georgia in rushing as both a junior and senior before the 1988 draft and would lead the Buccaneers in rushing in both of his seasons with Tampa Bay.

Tate would play in three games for Chicago in 1990, carrying the ball three times for five yards in his final NFL action.

Tate's son Donavam was the third overall pick in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft by San Diego but never made the major leagues with the Padres.