Calvin O'Neal

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Calvin O'Neal
No. 51
Position: Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1954-10-06) October 6, 1954 (age 70)
Osceola, Arkansas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school: Saginaw (Saginaw, Michigan)
College: Michigan
NFL draft: 1977: 6th round, 163rd overall
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Calvin O'Neal (born October 6, 1954) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League (NFL) in 1978. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, earning first-team All-American honors while serving as team co-captain in 1976.

Contents

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, Louisiana. [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. 1 2 "Calvin O'neal". databaseFootball.com. databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved December 4, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Calvin O'Neal". saginawcountysports.org. Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved December 4, 2007.
  3. ↑ Camp, Terry (June 8, 2006). "Mid-Michigan football legend needs help". ABC Inc., WJRT-TV/DT Flint, MI. Archived from the original on August 31, 2006. Retrieved December 4, 2007.
  4. 1 2 "1976 Football Team". The Regents of the University of Michigan. March 31, 2007. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2007.
  5. 1 2 3 "University of Michigan Football All-American, 1976, Team Co-Captain, 1976: Calvin O'Neal". The Regents of the University of Michigan. February 10, 2007.
  6. ↑ "History:Full Draft – Alphabetically". NFL Enterprises LLC. 2007. Retrieved December 4, 2007.
  7. ↑ "Former Colts: Where are they now?". ColtPower.com and Scout.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2007.
  8. ↑ "Lifestyle Business Affairs". Lifestyle/Business Affairs. 2007. Retrieved December 4, 2007.[ dead link ]
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