Ed White came to the Chargers before the 1978 season in a trade that sent running back Rickey Young to the Minnesota Vikings. After nine years in Minnesota—where he had already made three Pro Bowls—the veteran guard stepped into the starting right-guard spot in San Diego and stayed there. At a thick 6-foot-1 and around 270 pounds, he was a powerful, physical blocker who could drive defenders off the ball in the run game and hold his ground in pass protection. He started 117 of his 119 games with the Chargers, missing only two contests over eight seasons, and earned his fourth career Pro Bowl nod in 1979 as the team began a stretch of four straight playoff appearances under Don Coryell.

Those years lined up with the peak of the Air Coryell offense. With White anchoring the right side next to center Don Macek, the line helped Dan Fouts lead the NFL in passing yards four straight seasons and kept the sack rate low enough that the unit ranked among the league’s best in protection from 1981 to 1983. The Chargers won three consecutive AFC West titles from 1979 to 1981 and reached the AFC Championship Game twice. White was named the team’s Lineman of the Year three straight times from 1983 to 1985, even as the overall results cooled, and teammates and opponents alike noted how tough he was to move. Fouts has repeatedly said White was one of the most feared linemen he ever played with, the kind of guard who made life miserable for the defensive tackles across from him.

White retired after the 1985 season. Over his eight years in San Diego, he was one of the most durable and consistent pieces of the offensive line during the franchise’s most prolific passing era.

The Chargers later inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2004, recognizing the veteran guard who had helped keep Dan Fouts upright and the Air Coryell attack rolling for nearly a decade.