WVU Sports Hall of Fame
Pete White was a standout men's basketball player from 1952-55, playing for coaches Red Brown and Fred Schaus and alongside the likes of All-Americans Mark Workman and Hot Rod Hundley.
White, a native of Clendenin, West Virginia, served as captain of the 1954-55 basketball team, the first of Schaus' six years as a head coach and first NCAA Tournament team at WVU. He played in 70 varsity games, scoring 746 points (10.7 average) and grabbing 561 rebounds.
As a senior, White averaged 15.8 points and 12.0 rebounds, one of 10 Mountaineers to average a double-double for a season. He averaged 10.4 points and 6.1 rebounds as a junior.
White had a career-high 29 points against Pitt on Jan. 29, 1955, coupled with a career-best 27 rebounds against Pitt in the same game, the fourth most rebounds in a game in school history.
White also competed in track at West Virginia in the high jump and long jump.
He declined an invitation to join the NBA's St. Louis Hawks to fulfill his ROTC commitment in the United States Air Force.
He served 42 years on the WVU Foundation Board and received WVU's Order of Vandalia in 2001. White received a bachelor's degree in business administration and master's degree from WVU and was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the United States Air Force.
White and his wife, Jo, have two children, Anne White, who attended USC and became a nationally ranked professional tennis player, and son Brad, a graduate of Vanderbilt and captain of the lacrosse team. Anne was recently inducted into the Western United States Pro Tennis Hall of Fame.
White has worked in the finance and insurance industry for more than 60 years and has worked with his son for nearly 20 years. He died Jan. 12, 2023 at age 89.
