Byron White
A scholar-athlete of mythic proportions who traded the football field for the Supreme Court bench for over three decades.
1917–2002 (age 85)·US Supreme Court justice and pro football player·Birthday: June 8·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Byron 'Whizzer' White lived a life of towering dual accomplishments that seems almost fictional. At the University of Colorado, he was a Phi Beta Kappa student and a football star so dominant that his nickname stuck for life. He led the NFL in rushing as a rookie for the Pittsburgh Pirates (now Steelers), then put his career on hold for a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford. His studies were interrupted by World War II, where he served in Naval intelligence in the Pacific. After Yale Law School, where he edited the law review, he practiced law and worked on John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign. Kennedy appointed him to the Supreme Court in 1962. For 31 years, Justice White was a fiercely independent and pragmatic jurist. Appointed by a Democrat, he often sided with conservative blocs, authoring opinions that were direct, unsentimental, and grounded in judicial restraint, leaving a complex and influential legal legacy.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Byron was born in 1917, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Byron Was Born
The biggest hits of 1917
#1 Movie
Cleopatra
Byron's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1917Born
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
1922Started school
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1930Became a teenager
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
1933Could drive
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1935Could vote
Social Security Act signed into law
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,450President: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Cheek to Cheek" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty
1938Turned 21
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1947Turned 30
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1957Turned 40
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1967Turned 50
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1977Turned 60
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 70
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 80
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2002Died at 85
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
Key Achievements
- Served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court for 31 years, from 1962 to 1993.
- Led the National Football League in rushing yards during his rookie season in 1938.
- Was appointed a Rhodes Scholar in 1939, studying at Oxford University before World War II.
- Wrote the majority opinion in *Bowers v. Hardwick* (1986), which upheld state sodomy laws, a decision later overturned.
Did You Know?
He is the only U.S. Supreme Court justice to have also been a professional football player.
He led the University of Colorado to its first-ever bowl game appearance, the 1938 Cotton Bowl.
During World War II, he served as an intelligence officer in the South Pacific and wrote the official report on the sinking of PT-109, which was commanded by his friend, John F. Kennedy.
He turned down an offer to play baseball for the Cincinnati Reds to attend Oxford.
“The law must not become a mere instrument of power.”
