PRO FOOTBALL : Dickerson Is Gone, but White Makes Sure Rushing Title Isn’t

Each week he would glance at the small type and see that name again-- his name--and wonder how this could be. Charles White leading the league in rushing? The same Charles White who caddied for the Goggled One . . . who was best known for a Heisman and specimen bottles?

Don’t ask how it happened. Not even White can explain a season that sees the Rams do belly flops, but a special teams player and sometime halfback find himself atop one of the league’s most cherished categories.

“I would look in the standings and there I was,” White said. “It was like, ‘Is that me? Yeah, it’s got to me.’ ”

It’s him, all right. Was then; is now. Charles White, the guy who almost ran himself out of football in August, just ran himself to a rushing title in December.

It happened on a play that typified White’s season, a simple pitch from quarterback Steve Dils that ended nine yards later. But in those nine yards, White ensured himself of an unlikely piece of league history and also fueled a lively debate between his achievements and those of the player he replaced, Eric Dickerson.

On the play, White cradled the soft underhand toss from Dils in his battered hands, tucked it against his rib cage, the one with a one-inch pad wrapped around it, and bullied his way to the Rams’ 43-yard line. There was nothing subtle about the rush. What you saw was exactly what the San Francisco 49er defense got: someone who runs as if he were late for a brawl.

The carry--White’s fourth of Sunday evening--brought his game total to 10 yards. More important, it took his season total to 1,289, enough to surpass the former Ram meal ticket--Dickerson--by a single yard.

White was retired to the sideline by the end of third quarter. By then, the 49ers were applying the finishing touches of a 48-0 victory. Anyway, White safely had his title, thanks to a 95-yard evening that raised his total to 1,374.

Afterward, White wasn’t quite sure how to act. He had accomplished the unthinkable. So had the Rams, finishing the season with a 6-9 record and realistically, an exit from the playoff chase weeks ago.

“If I knew I was going to run the ball 20, 30 times a game, then I would say, ‘Yeah, sure I can win (the rushing title),” White said. “But I knew they had Eric Dickerson, so I would have said, ‘No, no way.’ ”

But that was before Dickerson politely told Ram Coach John Robinson to run the 47 Gap. Robinson responded by telling Dickerson to start studying for the Indiana driver’s license test.

Left with the Rams’ rushing game was White, who had spent most of his time on special teams. Put it this way: White’s 1987 total is only four yards shy of his previous pro career numbers.

“It’s very rewarding to achieve the things that I did this year,” White said. “To say that I am the leading rusher in the NFL for 1987 says a lot for me.”

Someone asked if White, a bargain at $150,000 this season and next, had a clause in his contract that rewarded him for a rushing title. White did a double-take. “I’m just lucky to get a contract this year,” he said.

White has endured his share of controversies this season. First came his arrest in August for being under the influence of a controlled substance. Next, as it became apparent that he might win the rushing title, came the whispers.

White had an advantage because he played in three replacement games.

White had an advantage because Dickerson was denied three games.

White could never beat Dickerson if all things were equal.

One of the people saying these things was Dickerson.

White remained calm throughout it all. He congratulated Dickerson for his 196-yard Sunday and added “that he deserves the money he’s getting, too.”

But White also made it clear that he wasn’t pleased with the comparisons. Sure, Dickerson missed three games, but what about the two games White missed at season’s beginning? “Football is football,” he said. “It’s not a point of scab players. The game is hard. I don’t pay no attention to it. I had an opportunity to excel, and I took advantage of it.”

Said tackle Jackie Slater, who should know: “That’s a real accomplishment on Charlie’s part. I’m just happy for Charlie.”

Speaking in the defense of Dickerson was good friend, David Hill. Hill said this talk of Dickerson pouting about a missed rushing title is untrue.

“I don’t think (Dickerson) will be that concerned about it,” Hill said. “He’ll give it to Charlie and say Charlie had a good year.”

A good year? Try remarkable on for size. It fits snugly.