Ex-Dallas Cowboys QB Danny White recalls Arizona State's early Fiesta Bowl dominance

Danny White is known in NFL history as a Dallas Cowboy. But the Mesa native rose to stardom at Arizona State about 50 years ago, and cemented his legacy as a Sun Devil in the Fiesta Bowl's earliest history.

White played for Dallas from 1976 to 1988, was a Super Bowl champion in 1977 as a punter and backup quarterback to Hall of Famer Roger Staubach, and lost as the Cowboys' starter to the Joe Montana-led San Francisco 49ers after the iconic game-winning touchdown play widely called "The Catch" in the 1981 NFC championship.

The Republic spoke to White about his ASU career, in which he helped lead the Sun Devils to win the inaugural Fiesta Bowl in 1971, and the following two Fiesta Bowls, all on their own home field at Sun Devil Stadium.

More Fiesta Bowl: 3 Cardinals recall playing against each other in 2017 Fiesta Bowl | Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons reflects on 2016, '19 Fiesta Bowls with Clemson | Cardinals' Colt McCoy recalls leading Texas to victory in 2009 Fiesta Bowl thriller

Q: They have the New Year’s Six bowls now. But were there any other coveted bowl games to play in when you were at ASU?

A: It was the same ones. The Rose Bowl was probably the biggest one, the Orange Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, those were probably the biggest ones at the time.

Q: Was Arizona State in the first three Fiesta Bowls because the game was located at the school’s own stadium, or because they earned those trips to the game?

A: Because we were the WAC conference champions.

Q: Whoever won the WAC title earned an automatic bid to the Fiesta Bowl?

A: Correct.

Q: Do you remember the first Fiesta Bowl you played in?

A: We played Florida State in the first one and that was a shootout. It came down to the very end, and it was just a game that went back and forth, back and forth …

But it was a one-score game and we scored. (ASU running back) Woody Green ran the ball in from, like, the (Florida State) three-yard line to win the game, and it was just a great football game. One of the best games I ever played in.

Q: What do you recall about playing in the next two Fiesta Bowl games?

A: ’72 was University of Missouri and we set a record in that game, 700-and-something yards of total offense, and beat Missouri. Then the third one was against University of Pittsburgh, and that was (White’s former Cowboys teammate and NFL Hall of Fame RB) Tony Dorsett’s freshman year, and we beat them.

Q: Do you remember how you individually played in any of those games, and what do you recall most about the game’s crowd at Sun Devil Stadium?

A: I know the first game, we only had one level in the stands. We didn’t have a second upper deck, and so you could see the game by sitting up on the (ASU campus “A”-stenciled) mountain. It was covered with people, literally covered. I remember it was the biggest mountain I’ve ever played in front of. It was a game that was dominant on our side. We ran the ball more than we threw it with Woody Green and Benny Malone. And then Gary Huff was the quarterback for Florida State, and they had this nationally recognized passing attack. We would take them 12, 14 plays to score and they’d get it and score in two plays, and we’d be back out there running the ball again. It was that kind of a game as I remember it. Personally, I was not like an MVP of any of those games because we just didn’t throw the ball that much.

Q: What is it about the Fiesta Bowl from those early years that you saw evolve through the 1970s and following decades?

A: Well, just the leadership of the bowl. They’ve taken it from a startup bowl with the WAC champion playing in it to the one of the top four bowls in the nation. That’s been a result of good games and good attendance and all that, but more than that, it’s been the leadership at the Fiesta Bowl level that’s made it one of the best bowls in the country, and a bowl that I’m very proud to say that I played in first three Fiesta Bowls.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU football legend Danny White recalls playing in first 3 Fiesta Bowls