| Date of birth: | October 6, 1954 |
| Place of birth: | Osceola, Arkansas |
| Career information | |
|---|---|
| Position(s): | Linebacker |
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| College: | Michigan |
| NFL Draft: | 1977 / Round: 6 / Pick: 163 |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1978 | Baltimore Colts |
| Playing stats at NFL.com | |
Calvin O'Neal ({born October 6, 1954) is a former professional American football linebacker who played for the Baltimore Colts in 1978 and was an All-American and team co-captain for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1976.
Amateur career[]
O'Neal is a 1972 graduate of Saginaw High School,[1] where he won All-State and All-Saginaw Valley honors in football and was named Most Valuable Player of the Saginaw Valley Conference, after averaging 14 tackles per game.[2] He was also a standout in basketball and track and field at Saginaw High from 1969-71.[2] O'Neal was teammates with quarterback Tom Slade both at Saginaw High School and at the University of Michigan.[3]
He attended the University of Michigan on a football scholarship. He served as co-captain along with Rob Lytle and Kirk Lewis.[4] The 1976 team was ranked #1 for eight weeks, but lost two of its last four games including a Rose Bowl loss to the USC Trojans. However, the team had four All-Americans (O'Neal, Lytle, Jim Smith, and Mark Donahue) as well as nine All Big Ten Conference players.[4] O'Neal made ten tackles in his first game for the Wolverines,[2] was twice named an All-Big Ten linebacker and was a Consensus All-American and team co-captain in 1976.[5] He was a team leader on defense, setting a season record with 151 tackles in 1975, and had a record 378 tackles for his career.[5] O'Neal combined strength and speed from his inside linebacking spot, and had three interceptions in 1976 for 60 return yards and a touchdown.[5]
Professional career[]
O'Neal was selected by the Baltimore Colts in the sixth round (163rd pick) of the 1977 NFL Draft.[6] He played in 15 games for the Colts in 1978.[1]
O'Neal lives in Shreveport, LA.[7] He is the founder of Lifestyle Business Affairs, an enrichment program for high school and collegiate student-athletes.[8] O'Neal was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.[2]
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Calvin O'neal". databaseFootball.com. databaseSports.com. http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ONEALCAL01. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Calvin O'Neal". saginawcountysports.org. Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame. http://www.saginawcountysports.org/oneal.html. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ↑ Camp, Terry (2006-06-08). "Mid-Michigan football legend needs help". ABC Inc., WJRT-TV/DT Flint, MI. http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=local&id=4251720. Retrieved 2007-12-04.[dead link]
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "1976 Football Team". The Regents of the University of Michigan. 2007-03-31. http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1976fbt.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "University of Michigan Football All-American, 1976, Team Co-Captain, 1976: Calvin O'Neal". The Regents of the University of Michigan. 2007-02-10. http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fballam/aaonealc.htm.
- ↑ "History:Full Draft - Alphabetically". NFL Enterprises LLC. 2007. http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?abbr=O&abbrFlag=1&type=alphabetical. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ↑ "Former Colts: Where are they now?". ColtPower.com and Scout.com. http://ind.scout.com/3/WhereAreTheyNow.html. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ↑ "Lifestyle Business Affairs". Lifestyle/Business Affairs. 2007. http://www.lbamich.org/Info.html. Retrieved 2007-12-04.[dead link]