American football player (born 1964)
American football player
Leslie Claudis O'Neal
(born May 7, 1964) is an American former professional
football
defensive end
and
linebacker
for 13 years in the
National Football League
(NFL). He spent the majority of his career with the
San Diego Chargers
before finishing with the
St. Louis Rams
and the
Kansas City Chiefs
. He was a three-time
All-Pro
and six-time
Pro Bowl
selection during his pro career.
O'Neal was a two-time
All-American
playing
college football
for the
Oklahoma State Cowboys
. He joined the Chargers after they selected him in the first round with the eighth overall pick in the
1986 NFL Draft
. He was named
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
, but suffered a major knee injury at the end of his first season. He returned within two years, and finished his career as the Chargers all-time leader in
sacks
.
College career
[
edit
]
O'Neal played
college football
for the
Oklahoma State Cowboys
, and twice earned
All-American
honors.
[1]
He was a
Big Eight
Defensive Player of the Year, and earned All-Big Eight honors for three consecutive years. He finished his Cowboys career ranked fifth all-time in tackles with 351.
[2]
On March 11, 2020, O’Neal was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player.
[3]
He is Oklahoma State’s sixth member of the Hall of Fame.
[4]
Professional career
[
edit
]
O'Neal was chosen in the first round with the eighth overall pick in the
1986 NFL draft
by the
San Diego Chargers
.
[5]
He was named the
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
in
1986
after recording
12
+
1
⁄
2
sacks
for the season, including a team-record five on November 16 against the
Dallas Cowboys
. However, his season ended prematurely due to a knee injury that sidelined him for almost two seasons.
[1]
He returned during the
1988 season
on October 16, and returned to his dominant form
the following season
, when he again had
12
+
1
⁄
2
sacks, and was rewarded with the first of six
Pro Bowl
selections.
[1]
O'Neal led the Chargers in sacks every season from
1990
through
1995
,
[1]
earning three second-team
All-Pro
selections in that span.
[2]
In 1992, he led the
American Football Conference
(AFC) with a career-high 17 sacks.
[6]
He played his final four seasons with the
St. Louis Rams
and
Kansas City Chiefs
.
[1]
He finished his Chargers career as the team's all-time leader in sacks (
105
+
1
⁄
2
). He was named to the
Chargers 40th
and
50th anniversary teams
, and was inducted to the
Chargers Hall of Fame
as well as the
Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame
in 2014.
[1]
[7]
Through the 2013 season, he ranked 10th all-time in the NFL in sacks with (
132
+
1
⁄
2
), tied with
Lawrence Taylor
when excluding the 9.5 sacks the latter accumulated in his rookie season due to not being an official statistic that time.
[1]
NFL career statistics
[
edit
]
Regular season
[
edit
]
Year
|
Team
|
Games
|
Tackles
|
Interceptions
|
Fumbles
|
GP
|
GS
|
Cmb
|
Solo
|
Ast
|
Sck
|
Int
|
Yds
|
TD
|
FF
|
FR
|
1986
|
SD
|
13
|
13
|
82
|
?
|
?
|
12.5
|
2
|
22
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
1987
|
SD
|
Missed season due to injury
|
1988
|
SD
|
9
|
1
|
28
|
?
|
?
|
4.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1989
|
SD
|
16
|
16
|
96
|
?
|
?
|
12.5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
1990
|
SD
|
16
|
16
|
81
|
?
|
?
|
13.5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
1991
|
SD
|
16
|
16
|
68
|
?
|
?
|
9.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
1992
|
SD
|
15
|
15
|
78
|
?
|
?
|
17.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1993
|
SD
|
16
|
16
|
56
|
?
|
?
|
12.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
1994
|
SD
|
16
|
16
|
60
|
47
|
13
|
12.5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
1995
|
SD
|
16
|
16
|
48
|
36
|
12
|
12.5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
1996
|
STL
|
16
|
16
|
54
|
39
|
15
|
7.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
1997
|
STL
|
15
|
14
|
43
|
35
|
8
|
10.0
|
1
|
5
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
1998
|
KC
|
16
|
13
|
45
|
32
|
13
|
4.5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
1999
|
KC
|
16
|
10
|
28
|
22
|
6
|
5.5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Career
|
196
|
178
|
767
|
211
|
67
|
132.5
|
3
|
27
|
1
|
21
|
16
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Williams, Eric D. (September 2, 2014).
"DE O'Neal headed to Chargers Hall of Fame"
.
ESPN.com
.
Archived
from the original on September 4, 2014.
- ^
a
b
"Leslie O'Neal"
.
oksportshof.org
. Archived from
the original
on September 8, 2014.
- ^
Aber, Ryan (December 7, 2021).
"
'Kudos to them': New College Football Hall of Famer Leslie O'Neal grateful to all-star OSU coaching staff"
.
The Oklahoman
.
- ^
@CowboyFB (March 11, 2020).
"??Congratulations to Leslie O'Neal - #okstate's sixth member of the @cfbhall!?? ?? #GoPokes"
(
Tweet
) – via
Twitter
.
- ^
"1986 NFL Draft Listing"
.
Pro-Football-Reference.com
. Retrieved
October 1,
2023
.
- ^
"O'Neal and Chargers Agree to 3-Year Pact"
.
The New York Times
. AP. August 21, 1993. p. 30
. Retrieved
October 2,
2019
.
Defensive end Leslie O'Neal, who led the American Football Conference with a career-high 17 sacks last year, signed a three-year contract with the San Diego Chargers yesterday.
- ^
Carlson, Jenni (January 16, 2014).
"Pro Football Hall of Fame needs to take a good look at former Oklahoma State star Leslie O'Neal"
.
The Oklahoman
.
Archived
from the original on September 8, 2014.
External links
[
edit
]
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