There is no higher honor in professional football than induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But there has been a small pantheon of players over the 85-year history of the National Football League that has even transcended that special company.

Reggie White was among them. He was one of the greatest of the great.

White, who died Sunday at age 43, played 15 years in the NFL, including six with the Green Bay Packers, and finished his career with 198 sacks, now second on the all-time list. He was elected to a record 13 consecutive Pro Bowls. He was twice honored as the NFL’s defensive player of the year.

He was selected to the NFL’s all-decade teams for both the 1980s and 1990s. And he was one of three defensive ends named to the league’s 75th anniversary all-time team in 1994, six years before he retired.

White is all but a cinch to be inducted into the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible a year from now, if not before if the selection committee decides to waive its five-year waiting period before its annual meeting on Feb. 5.

The other defensive ends honored with White on the 75th anniversary team were David “Deacon” Jones and Gino Marchetti.

Willie Davis, one of 12 defensive ends in the Hall of Fame, played in the same period as Jones and Marchetti. As one of the Packers legends of the Vince Lombardi era and a current member of the franchise’s board of directors, Davis also closely followed White’s career.

Davis categorized Jones and Marchetti as great pass rushers. To this day, Davis said Marchetti was the best he had ever seen at that aspect of the game. But Davis said he probably would rank White as the most complete defensive end of them all.

“Reggie could very well have been that one player,” said Davis. “His ability to play end with almost tackle skills and, ultimately getting outside and playing as a typical defensive end would play it today; when you take those two things and hook them together, Reggie could very well be the guy.”

Jones and Marchetti played before sacks were kept as an unofficial statistic. When White retired following the 2000 season, he held the record. Bruce Smith broke it last year, finishing his career with 200. But Smith played four more years than White.

Jones, who played 14 seasons mostly with the Los Angeles Rams, said he’d rank himself No. 1, but that White might be next on his list.

“There are two ends on every team,” said Jones. “We were the No. 1 and No. 2 choices on the all-time team. But I would never say anybody who ever played the position was better than me. You could hold me to a fire and I’d never say that.”

After two seasons with the Memphis Showboats of the United State Football League, White signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 20, 1985. He played in only 13 games that season but had an instant impact. He registered 13 sacks and was named the NFC’s defensive rookie of the year.