Calvin O'Neal

Infobox NFL player


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Name=Calvin O'Neal
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DateOfBirth=birth date and age|1954|10|04
Birthplace=city-state|Osceola|Arkansas
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Height_ft=6
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Weight_lbs=235
Position=Linebacker
College=Michigan
DraftedYear=1977
DraftedRound=6
DraftedPick=163
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NFL=ONE059327
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years=1978
teams=Baltimore Colts
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Calvin O'Neal (birth date and age|1954|10|04 in city-state|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.

Amateur career

O'Neal is a 1972 graduate of Saginaw High School,cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ONEALCAL01|title=Calvin O'neal |publisher=databaseSports.com|work=databaseFootball.com|accessdate=2007-12-04] 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 both at Saginaw High School and at the University of Michigan. [cite web|url=http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=local&id=4251720|title=Mid-Michigan football legend needs help|publisher=ABC Inc., WJRT-TV/DT Flint, MI|accessdate=2007-12-04|date=2006-06-08|author=Camp, Terry]

He attended the University of Michigan on a football scholarship. He served as co-captain along with Rob Lytle and Kirk Lewis.cite web|url=http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1976fbt.htm|title=1976 Football Team|accessdate=2007-12-04|publisher=The Regents of the University of Michigan|date=2007-03-31] 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. O'Neal made ten tackles in his first game for the Wolverines,cite web|url=http://www.saginawcountysports.org/oneal.html|title=Calvin O'Neal|accessdate=2007-12-04|publisher=Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame|work=saginawcountysports.org] 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.cite web|url=http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fballam/aaonealc.htm|title=University of Michigan Football All-American, 1976, Team Co-Captain, 1976: Calvin O'Neal|publisher=The Regents of the University of Michigan|date=2007-02-10] 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 Baltimore Colts in the sixth round (163rd pick) of the 1977 NFL Draft. [cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?abbr=O&abbr
|title=History:Full Draft - Alphabetically|accessdate=2007-12-04|publisher=NFL Enterprises LLC|date=2007] He played in 15 games for the Colts in 1978.

O'Neal lives in city-state|Orchard Lake|Michigan. [cite web|url=http://ind.scout.com/3/WhereAreTheyNow.html|title=Former Colts: Where are they now?|accessdate=2007-12-04|publisher=ColtPower.com and Scout.com] He is the founder of Lifestyle Business Affairs, an enrichment program for high school and collegiate student-athletes. [cite web|url=http://www.lbamich.org/Info.html|title=Lifestyle Business Affairs|accessdate=2007-12-04|publisher=Lifestyle/Business Affairs|date=2007] O'Neal was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/davetgc/Top_Michigan_Football_Players_1969_to_2000.html Top Michigan Football Players 1969-2000]
* [http://motownsportsrevival.blogspot.com/2005/08/100-greatest-michigan-football-players.html Top 100 Michigan Football players]