Calvin O'Neal (born October 6, 1954) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) in 1978. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

, earning first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors while serving as team co-captain in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

Amateur career

O'Neal is a 1972 graduate of

Saginaw High School Saginaw High School (formerly part of the Saginaw City School District) was a high school located in Saginaw, Michigan, USA. The student enrollment was 405 at time of closing. History The school was established in 1865 as East Side High Scho ...

, 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. He was also a standout in basketball and track and field at Saginaw High from 1969–71. O'Neal was teammates with quarterback

Tom Slade Thomas A. Slade (April 6, 1952 – November 12, 2006) was an American football quarterback who played for the University of Michigan Michigan Wolverines football, Wolverines football team from 1971 to 1973. Saginaw High School Slade was born in ...

both at

and at the University of Michigan. He attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

on a football scholarship. He served as co-captain along with

Rob Lytle Robert William Lytle (November 12, 1954 – November 20, 2010) was an American football running back who played for the Denver Broncos in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. Lytle played college football for the Michigan Wolver ...

and Kirk Lewis. The 1976 team was ranked #1 for eight weeks, but lost two of its last four games including a

Rose Bowl Rose Bowl or Rosebowl may refer to: * Rose Bowl Game, an annual American college football game * Rose Bowl (stadium), Pasadena, California, site of the football game, and the home stadium of the UCLA Football team * Rose Bowl (cricket ground), West ...

loss to the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

. However, the team had four All-Americans (O'Neal, Lytle, Jim Smith, and

Mark Donahue Mark Joseph Donahue (born January 28, 1956) is an American former professional football player who was a guard for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines from 1975 ...

) as well as nine All Big Ten Conference players. O'Neal made ten tackles in his first game for the Wolverines, was twice named an All-Big Ten linebacker and was a Consensus All-American and team co-captain in 1976. 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. O'Neal combined strength and speed from his inside linebacking spot, and had three interceptions in 1976 for 60 return yards and a touchdown.

Professional career

O'Neal was selected by the

in the sixth round (163rd pick) of the 1977 NFL Draft. He played in 15 games for the Colts in 1978. O'Neal lives in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

. He is the founder of Lifestyle Business Affairs, an enrichment program for high school and collegiate student-athletes. O'Neal was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

Notes

External links

*
Top 100 Michigan Football players
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneal, Calvin 1954 births American football linebackers Baltimore Colts players Living people Michigan Wolverines football players Saginaw High School alumni Sportspeople from Mississippi County, Arkansas Players of American football from Michigan