Talk:Pat White

Requested move 22 February 2019

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: Moved. (non-admin closure) –Ammarpad (talk) 05:53, 1 March 2019 (UTC)

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Pat White (gridiron football) → Pat White (American football)Pat White (American football) – We should not use 'gridiron football' for a player who only spent one season in Canada. The disambiguator 'American football' is the standard one for American football players. Lepricavark (talk) 05:11, 22 February 2019 (UTC)

• Support Did not establish much notability in Canadian football, or in the NFL for that matter. At this point, it looks like he's notable for his college football career playing American football.—Bagumba (talk) 04:26, 25 February 2019 (UTC)
• Support. 95% of this article is about his career in American football, especially at West Virginia. Ostealthy (talk) 14:47, 27 February 2019 (UTC)

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The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Requested move 16 January 2026

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: Moved to Pat White. The assertion was made near the end of the debate that this topic is actually primary among all Pat Whites, and this was not refuted in the two weeks since. This renders the debate about precise disambiguators moot. This is effectively a WP:RMNOMIN situation so if anyone has objections, please let me know what they are.  — Amakuru (talk) 14:29, 16 February 2026 (UTC)

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Pat White (American football) → Pat White (gridiron football)Pat White (gridiron football) – There was a prior RM on this above but WP:NCGRIDIRON seems clear: "If the person played multiple codes of football professionally, use (gridiron football)." He played both American football and Canadian football. Gridiron football is linked in the first sentence of Pat White's lead. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 17:03, 16 January 2026 (UTC) — Relisting. TarnishedPath^talk 08:23, 24 January 2026 (UTC) — Relisting. TarnishedPath^talk 01:02, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose. You failed to mention the footnote that follows that sentence, which states "If player was most notable for one specific code, that code may be used instead of the generic gridiron football." Jessintime (talk) 20:48, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

  I don't remember that being there before. Looks like Bagumba added that himself, citing WP:IAR. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 20:53, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

  In the edit summary, I cited Talk:Jim Marshall (defensive end) § Requested move 12 October 2017 (it was at (gridiron football) and moved to (American football)). It's been 8 years since that change. At any rate "may be used instead" isn't even "should", let alone "must".—Bagumba (talk) 21:51, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

• Reluctant oppose. I agree with OP's sentiment here, but a discussion needs to happen first at Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (sportspeople) to discuss whether this "most notable" clause should be deleted from the naming convention. 162 etc. (talk) 21:19, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

Changing vote to Support, as the naming convention has indeed been updated. "Gridiron football" is an umbrella term that refers to both American football and Canadian football; as Pat White is known for both, this is the best disambiguation tag. 162 etc. (talk) 17:53, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

• Comment Patrick White is not commonly known as "Pat White", and none of the other individuals at the dabpage appear to have significant pageviews. This article may well be the primary topic for Pat White. 162 etc. (talk) 21:25, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

Note: WikiProject Alabama, WikiProject Biography/Sports and games, WikiProject West Virginia University, WikiProject Baseball, WikiProject National Football League, WikiProject Canadian football, WikiProject West Virginia, WikiProject National Football League/Washington Commanders subproject, and WikiProject College football have been notified of this discussion. TarnishedPath^talk 08:24, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

• Support He played two seasons in the NFL and one in the CFL. So, I don't understand how "American football" is deemed to be the more notable code. Assadzadeh (talk) 15:10, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

  Note that he has been coaching American football teams since 2018. 162 etc. (talk) 17:40, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

  And yet as WikiOriginal-9 noted "Gridiron football is linked in the first sentence of Pat White's lead", the same as Doug Flutie and Warren Moon, two players who excelled in Canadian football, but are notable mostly for their American football accomplishments. As for Moon, even his "short description" clarifies him as "American gridiron football player". Assadzadeh (talk) 17:56, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

  I don't like this "most notable" guideline either. See my comment above. But until that is changed, I can see why somebody who has 13 seasons of collegiate/professional American football to his name, vs. one of Canadian football, is most notable for the former. 162 etc. (talk) 18:49, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

1. Why do we even need to have a discussion about a note that was added to a guideline by WP:IAR? I would suggest deleting it by WP:BRD.
2. While notes are helpful in articles by reducing clutter, they should not be added to guidelines, as they become "hidden". I didn't even notice it the first time I read the guideline.
3. The note was based on consensus for one player (Jim Marshall) resulting in the article being moved from "(gridiron football)" to "(American football)", which has since been moved to "(defensive end)". As such, the consensus should be considered moot.

Assadzadeh (talk) 21:22, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

I have removed the footnote. Assadzadeh (talk) 18:31, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

@Bagumba: 162 etc. (talk) 18:37, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose WP:IAR to leave at (American football). His notability as a player was playing AmF in college, winning Big East Offensive Player of the Year and a 3× First-team All-Big East selection. 3 of his 4 pro teams were in AmF. He's since coached 8 seasons exclusively in AmF. Talk:Jim Marshall (defensive end) § Requested move 12 October 2017 was a precedent to not blindly use (gridiron football) because of a mere technicality. Other bios also eschew gridiron when they're mostly associated with one code of football (e.g. Tom Higgins (Canadian football)).—Bagumba (talk) 06:51, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

  White played more games in the CFL than NFL. Serious question: who would "(gridiron football)" ever apply to if that's not enough? It doesn't really matter either way though, we're just splitting hairs. "Gridiron football" technically isn't even a real sport anyway... lol ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 15:37, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

  At least Paul Cameron (gridiron football) was an all-star in both with roughly even years (college+pros) in each. —Bagumba (talk) 17:59, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

  It doesn't really matter either way though, we're just splitting hairs: Agree. Perhaps time is better spent making sure people looking for either football code can find the player. I had to create Pat White (Canadian football) and Paul Cameron (Canadian football), which were missing. —Bagumba (talk) 18:39, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

  It doesn't really matter either way though, we're just splitting hairs. @WikiOriginal-9: Since you initiated the RM, are you now withdrawing support for it? If yes, then please closeout the discussion. Assadzadeh (talk) 21:22, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

  RMs that have "Support" votes cannot be withdrawn. 162 etc. (talk) 22:35, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

• Comment At the risk of complicating things further: Does anyone have any strong objection to my earlier suggestion of Pat White? The more I look at this, the more I'm convinced that he is the primary topic here. 162 etc. (talk) 04:06, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

  Your suggestion is definitely supported by Pat_White_(politician)|Pat_White_(rugby_league) Pageviews. Assadzadeh (talk) 04:18, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.