Leon Allen White (May 14, 1955 – June 18, 2018), better known by his ring names Big Van Vader or simply Vader, was an American professional wrestler and professional football player. Throughout his career, he performed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and Pro Wrestling Noah (NOAH) during the 1990s and 2000s, He is widely regarded as the greatest super-heavyweight professional wrestler of all time. White performed as a monstrous wrestler, and he was capable of aerial maneuvers: his diving moonsault was voted the "Best Wrestling Maneuver" of 1993 by Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) readers. Among other accolades in WCW, Mexico and Japan, he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship three times each, the UWA World Heavyweight Championship once, the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship twice, the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship once, and won the battle royal main event of the 1993 Battlebowl pay-per-view (PPV). He headlined multiple PPV events for the WWF and WCW. Vader was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022. Early life Leon Allen White was born in Lynwood, California on May 14, 1955, and grew up in Compton, California. He was raised with his sister in a rough area of Los Angeles known as South Central, where the siblings experienced a home break-in. His father was a US Marine. His father also was an underwater welder for the US Navy and invented an automobile hoist, which made the family wealthier and let them move to a safer neighborhood in Bell, where White attended Bell High School. In high school, he competed in shot put on the track and field team, wrestled, and played football. American football career White was a nationally ranked center that was recruited by forty colleges. He played offensive line at the University of Colorado, where he was named a second-team All-American at guard by United Press International for the Buffaloes in 1977. He earned a business administration degree. Professional career In the 1978 NFL Draft, White was drafted as a center by the Los Angeles Rams with the 24th pick of the 3rd Round (80th overall). White's second season saw the Rams go to the Super Bowl and earned White an NFC championship ring. White spent the season on the injured