Frank White

First things first. Frank White doesn't believe in dues-paying. He doesn't think a former major-league player must necessarily sacrifice the first years of his baseball afterlife and retrace the steps he made as a young player in a minor-league outpost to satisfy someone's subjective list of prerequisites for managing in the major leagues.

Tony Gwynn first saw his likeness in bronze on the day last summer when the San Diego Padres unveiled a 9 1/2 -foot statue of the Hall of Famer, in mid-swing, just beyond the outfield wall at Petco Park. "When they took the tarp off of it, it was like an out-of-body experience," he said. Then he noticed the inscription, a quote from his late father, Charles: "If you work hard, good things will happen." That's when he lost it. "I teared up when I saw it," he said. "And I still tear up. It's a remarkable thing to be remembered in bronze."

Frank White, who defeated Arkansas' then-Gov. Bill Clinton in 1980 and two years later was himself ousted when Clinton recaptured the governorship, has died. White was 69. Family members said he died Wednesday at his home. No cause was given. "While we were opponents in the past, we established a good friendship, and I liked him very much," Clinton said in a statement issued after White's death.

At 65, Frank White was in dire health. A four-pack-a-day cigarette habit for nearly 50 years, a bad diet and a heavy dependence on alcohol had left him with severe respiratory problems, high blood pressure and a leaky heart valve. He was also battling rheumatoid arthritis and was more than 50 pounds overweight. He was, he later admitted, "headed for the cemetery."

At 65, Frank White was in dire health. A four-pack-a-day cigarette habit for nearly 50 years, a bad diet and a heavy dependence on alcohol had left him with severe respiratory problems, high blood pressure and a leaky heart valve. He was also battling rheumatoid arthritis and was more than 50 pounds overweight. He was, he later admitted, "headed for the cemetery."

The contract Frank White signed with the Kansas City Royals this spring will bring hundreds of thousands of dollars to a proud man who was once humiliated by 45 cents. "You forgive something like that," he says. "But you never forget." A six-time Gold Glove winner at second base and a cornerstone of the most successful era of any Kansas City sports team, White is all but bound to the Royals for the rest of his career.

Frank White kept smiling for the cameras. He made sure to say all of the right things during the interviews. He was a gracious guest on the radio talk shows. Usually, the new manager of a rookie league team in Winter Haven, Fla., isn't big news, but when he's the first black minor league manager in Boston Red Sox history, that's a story. The Red Sox, after all, were the last organization in major league baseball to integrate.

An unemployed Los Angeles man who killed a woman on her way to church in Koreatown two years ago was found guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder. An eight-woman, four-man Superior Court jury decided that Frank White, 36, murdered Shin Kim in the parking lot of Southern California Savings on Beverly Boulevard in the Mid-Wilshire District on Aug. 4, 1991.

At 77, Frank White is the picture of health. A rather offbeat one, too. With a completely shaved head, the fitful vegetarian stands an even 5-foot-8, 145 pounds. He can boast of an enviable cholesterol count, low blood pressure, and a near religious workout schedule--everyday, up to two hours at a time. Except for the Midwestern accent and his earring, the bespectacled former actor is like Ben Kingsley playing Gandhi. But just nine years ago, White looked more like the picture of near hell.

The plan was for Jerry Allen to take the last shot, but the El Camino College defense wouldn't let him get the ball. So, with time running out, Frank White, who was deep in the right corner, decided to take it. He looked at the clock. "I saw nine, then eight," White said. "I went baseline, brought it back out a little and shot it. Somebody had to shoot it." The high-arching shot over two defenders swished through the hoop to give Harbor College an 88-87 lead with five seconds left in the game.

The L.A. landscape is lousy with yoga studios, each filled with relatively young teachers and even younger students who reveal their lower back tattoos during downward-facing dog. In this world, Frank White is an anomaly. At 83, he's in his 16th year of teaching yoga -- not an eternity, but remarkable when you consider that he didn't even step into a yoga studio until he was 68.

Frank White, who defeated Arkansas' then-Gov. Bill Clinton in 1980 and two years later was himself ousted when Clinton recaptured the governorship, has died. White was 69. Family members said he died Wednesday at his home. No cause was given. "While we were opponents in the past, we established a good friendship, and I liked him very much," Clinton said in a statement issued after White's death.

At 77, Frank White is the picture of health. A rather offbeat one, too. With a completely shaved head, the fitful vegetarian stands an even 5-foot-8, 145 pounds. He can boast of an enviable cholesterol count, low blood pressure, and a near religious workout schedule--everyday, up to two hours at a time. Except for the Midwestern accent and his earring, the bespectacled former actor is like Ben Kingsley playing Gandhi. But just nine years ago, White looked more like the picture of near hell.

President Clinton and AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland sought to put aside their differences Friday in a face-to-face meeting that the White House characterized as frank and positive.

An unemployed Los Angeles man who killed a woman on her way to church in Koreatown two years ago was found guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder. An eight-woman, four-man Superior Court jury decided that Frank White, 36, murdered Shin Kim in the parking lot of Southern California Savings on Beverly Boulevard in the Mid-Wilshire District on Aug. 4, 1991.

The plan was for Jerry Allen to take the last shot, but the El Camino College defense wouldn't let him get the ball. So, with time running out, Frank White, who was deep in the right corner, decided to take it. He looked at the clock. "I saw nine, then eight," White said. "I went baseline, brought it back out a little and shot it. Somebody had to shoot it." The high-arching shot over two defenders swished through the hoop to give Harbor College an 88-87 lead with five seconds left in the game.

Frank White hit a grand slam in the eighth inning, giving the Kansas City Royals a 6-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians Thursday night at Kansas City. The victory was the fourth straight for the Royals and put them at the .500 mark. They trail the first-place Angels by only 1 1/2 games. The grand slam, White's third home run of the season, was his fifth career grand slam. The towering shot, just inside the left-field foul pole, allowed Dennis Leonard to improve to 4-3.

Corey White sat in a corner of the visitor's locker room and pulled off his freshly scuffed black cleats. As players around him exchanged cheers and high-fives, White, true to form, remained quiet. "Who needs Russell White?" a teammate shouted, "We've got Corey." The group, giddy from victory, boisterously agreed. However, serious comparisons between Crespi's all-time leading rusher and the Glendale tailback are, at best, hastily drawn.

Frank White kept smiling for the cameras. He made sure to say all of the right things during the interviews. He was a gracious guest on the radio talk shows. Usually, the new manager of a rookie league team in Winter Haven, Fla., isn't big news, but when he's the first black minor league manager in Boston Red Sox history, that's a story. The Red Sox, after all, were the last organization in major league baseball to integrate.

First things first. Frank White doesn't believe in dues-paying. He doesn't think a former major-league player must necessarily sacrifice the first years of his baseball afterlife and retrace the steps he made as a young player in a minor-league outpost to satisfy someone's subjective list of prerequisites for managing in the major leagues.