Calvin O'Neal

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Calvin O'Neal
Date of birth: October 4, 1954 (1954-10-04) (age 53)
Place of birth: Osceola, Arkansas
Career information
Position(s): Linebacker
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight: 235 lb (107 kg)
College: Michigan
NFL Draft: 1977 / Round: 6 / Pick: 163
Organizations
 As player:
1978 Baltimore Colts
Stats at NFL.com

Calvin O'Neal (October 4, 1954 (1954-10-04) (age 53) in Osceola, Arkansas) 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 1977.

Contents

[edit] 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]

[edit] 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 Orchard Lake, Michigan.[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]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Calvin O'neal. databaseFootball.com. databaseSports.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  2. ^ a b c d Calvin O'Neal. saginawcountysports.org. Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  3. ^ Camp, Terry (2006-06-08). Mid-Michigan football legend needs help. ABC Inc., WJRT-TV/DT Flint, MI. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  4. ^ a b 1976 Football Team. The Regents of the University of Michigan (2007-03-31). Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  5. ^ a b c University of Michigan Football All-American, 1976, Team Co-Captain, 1976: Calvin O'Neal. The Regents of the University of Michigan (2007-02-10).
  6. ^ History:Full Draft - Alphabetically. NFL Enterprises LLC (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  7. ^ Former Colts: Where are they now?. ColtPower.com and Scout.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  8. ^ Lifestyle Business Affairs. Lifestyle/Business Affairs (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-04.

[edit] External links