View source for Leslie O'Neal

{{Short description|American football player (born 1964)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Leslie O'Neal
| image       =
| image_size  = 
| alt         = 
| caption     = 
| number      = 91
| position    = [[Defensive end]] <br> [[Linebacker]]
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1964|5|7}}
| birth_place = [[Little Rock, Arkansas]], U.S.
| death_date  = 
| death_place = 
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 4
| weight_lb   = 275
| high_school = [[Hall STEAM Magnet High School|Hall]] {{nowrap|(Little Rock)}}
| college     = [[Oklahoma State Cowboys football|Oklahoma State]] (1982–1985)
| draftyear   = 1986
| draftround  = 1
| draftpick   = 8
| pastteams   =
* [[San Diego Chargers]] ({{NFL Year|1986|1995}})
* [[St. Louis Rams]] ({{NFL Year|1996|1997}})
* [[Kansas City Chiefs]] ({{NFL Year|1998|1999}})
| highlights  =
* [[NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year]] (1986)
* 3× Second-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1990 All-Pro Team|1990]], [[1992 All-Pro Team|1992]], [[1994 All-Pro Team|1994]])
* 6× [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1990 Pro Bowl|1989]], [[1991 Pro Bowl|1990]], [[1993 Pro Bowl|1992]]–[[1996 Pro Bowl|1995]])
* [[PFWA All-Rookie Team]] ([[PFWA All-Rookie Team#1986|1986]])
* [[Los Angeles Chargers Hall of Fame]]
* [[List of San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team|San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team]]
* [[List of San Diego Chargers 40th Anniversary Team|San Diego Chargers 40th Anniversary Team]]
* [[List of unanimous All-Americans in college football|Unanimous All-American]] ([[1985 College Football All-America Team|1985]])
* First-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1984 College Football All-America Team|1984]])
* [[Big Eight Conference football#Defensive Player of the Year|Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year]] (1984)
* 3× First-team All-[[Big Eight Conference|Big Eight]] ([[1983 All-Big Eight Conference football team|1983]], [[1984 All-Big Eight Conference football team|1984]], [[1985 All-Big Eight Conference football team|1985]])
| statlabel1  = [[Quarterback sack|Sacks]]
| statvalue1  = 132.5
| statlabel2  = Total [[Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football|tackles]]
| statvalue2  = 767
| statlabel3  = Forced [[fumble]]s
| statvalue3  = 21
| statlabel4  = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue4  = 16
| statlabel5  = [[Interception]]s
| statvalue5  = 3
| statlabel6  = Defensive [[touchdown]]s
| statvalue6  = 2
| statlabel7  = 
| statvalue7  = 
| statlabel8  = 
| statvalue8  = 
| pfr         = ONeaLe00
| CollegeHOF  = 2459 
}}

'''Leslie Claudis O'Neal''' (born May 7, 1964) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[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 [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] playing [[college football]] for the [[Oklahoma State Cowboys football|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 Rookie of the Year Award|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 [[Quarterback sack|sacks]].

==College career==
O'Neal played [[college football]] for the [[Oklahoma State Cowboys football|Oklahoma State Cowboys]], and twice earned [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] honors.<ref name=williams>{{cite news|last=Williams |first=Eric D. |title=DE O'Neal headed to Chargers Hall of Fame |date=September 2, 2014 |work=ESPN.com |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/san-diego-chargers/post/_/id/6620/leslie-oneal-headed-to-chargers-hall-of-fame |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904142611/http://espn.go.com/blog/san-diego-chargers/post/_/id/6620/leslie-oneal-headed-to-chargers-hall-of-fame |archive-date=September 4, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was a [[Big Eight Conference football|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.<ref name=okhof>{{cite web|title=Leslie O'Neal |work=oksportshof.org |url=http://oksportshof.org/hall-of-fame-members/leslie-o-neal/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908113719/http://oksportshof.org/hall-of-fame-members/leslie-o-neal/ |archive-date=September 8, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On March 11, 2020, O’Neal was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Aber |first1=Ryan |title='Kudos to them': New College Football Hall of Famer Leslie O'Neal grateful to all-star OSU coaching staff |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/2021/12/07/leslie-oneal-grateful-oklahoma-state-coaching-staff-college-football-hall-fame/6420797001/ |work=The Oklahoman |date=December 7, 2021}}</ref> He is Oklahoma State's sixth member of the Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite tweet|number=1237777427511861250|user=CowboyFB|title=🎉Congratulations to Leslie O’Neal - #okstate's sixth member of the @cfbhall!🎉 📰 #GoPokes<!-- full text of tweet that Twitter returned to the bot (excluding links) added by TweetCiteBot. This may be better truncated or may need expanding (TW limits responses to 140 characters) or case changes. --> |date=March 11, 2020}}</ref>

==Professional career==
O'Neal was chosen in the first round with the eighth overall pick in the [[1986 NFL draft]] by the [[San Diego Chargers]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1986 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1986/draft.htm |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He was named the [[NFL Rookie of the Year Award|NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year]] in [[1986 San Diego Chargers season|1986]] after recording {{frac|12|1|2}} [[quarterback sack|sack]]s for the season, including a team-record five on November 16 against the [[Dallas Cowboys]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Winners |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/awards/ap-defensive-rookie-of-the-year-award.htm |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> However, his season ended prematurely due to a knee injury that sidelined him for almost two seasons.<ref name=williams/>

He returned during the [[1988 San Diego Chargers season|1988 season]] on October 16, and returned to his dominant form [[1989 San Diego Chargers season|the following season]], when he again had {{frac|12|1|2}} sacks, and was rewarded with the first of six [[Pro Bowl]] selections.<ref name=williams/> O'Neal led the Chargers in sacks every season from [[1990 San Diego Chargers season|1990]] through [[1990 San Diego Chargers season|1995]],<ref name=williams/> earning three second-team [[All-Pro]] selections in that span.<ref name=okhof/> In 1992, he led the [[American Football Conference]] (AFC) with a career-high 17 sacks.<ref>{{cite news|title=O'Neal and Chargers Agree to 3-Year Pact|date=August 21, 1993|newspaper=The New York Times|agency=AP|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/21/sports/sports-people-football-o-neal-and-chargers-agree-to-3-year-pact.html|page=30|url-access=subscription|quote=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.|access-date=October 2, 2019}}</ref> He played his final four seasons with the [[St. Louis Rams]] and [[Kansas City Chiefs]].<ref name=williams/>

He finished his Chargers career as the team's all-time leader in sacks ({{frac|105|1|2}}). He was named to the [[San Diego Chargers 40th Anniversary Team|Chargers 40th]] and [[San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team|50th anniversary teams]], and was inducted to the [[Los Angeles Chargers Hall of Fame|Chargers Hall of Fame]] as well as the [[Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame]] in 2014.<ref name=williams/><ref>{{cite news|last=Carlson |first=Jenni |title=Pro Football Hall of Fame needs to take a good look at former Oklahoma State star Leslie O'Neal |date=January 16, 2014 |newspaper=The Oklahoman |url=http://newsok.com/pro-football-hall-of-fame-needs-to-take-a-good-look-at-former-oklahoma-state-star-leslie-oneal/article/3924541 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908112522/http://newsok.com/pro-football-hall-of-fame-needs-to-take-a-good-look-at-former-oklahoma-state-star-leslie-oneal/article/3924541 |archive-date=September 8, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Through the 2013 season, he ranked 10th all-time in the NFL in sacks with ({{frac|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.<ref name=williams/>

==NFL career statistics==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| '''Bold'''
| Career high
|}

===Regular season===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="2"| Games
! colspan="4"| Tackles
! colspan="3"| Interceptions
! colspan="2"| Fumbles
|-
! GP !! GS !! Cmb !! Solo !! Ast !! Sck !! Int !! Yds !! TD !! FF !! FR
|-
! [[1986 NFL season|1986]] !! [[1986 San Diego Chargers season|SD]]
| 13 || 13 || 82 || – || – || 12.5 || '''2''' || '''22''' || '''1''' || 3 || 2
|-
! [[1987 NFL season|1987]] !! [[1987 San Diego Chargers season|SD]]
| colspan="13"|''Missed season due to injury''
|-
! [[1988 NFL season|1988]] !! [[1988 San Diego Chargers season|SD]]
| 9 || 1 || 28 || – || – || 4.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0
|-
! [[1989 NFL season|1989]] !! [[1989 San Diego Chargers season|SD]]
| 16 || 16 || '''96''' || – || – || 12.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
! [[1990 NFL season|1990]] !! [[1990 San Diego Chargers season|SD]]
| 16 || 16 || 81 || – || – || 13.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
! [[1991 NFL season|1991]] !! [[1991 San Diego Chargers season|SD]]
| 16 || 16 || 68 || – || – || 9.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0
|-
! [[1992 NFL season|1992]] !! [[1992 San Diego Chargers season|SD]]
| 15 || 15 || 78 || – || – || '''17.0''' || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1
|-
! [[1993 NFL season|1993]] !! [[1993 San Diego Chargers season|SD]]
| 16 || 16 || 56 || – || – || 12.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 1
|-
! [[1994 NFL season|1994]] !! [[1994 San Diego Chargers season|SD]]
| 16 || 16 || 60 || '''47''' || 13 || 12.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 1
|-
! [[1995 NFL season|1995]] !! [[1995 San Diego Chargers season|SD]]
| 16 || 16 || 48 || 36 || 12 || 12.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || '''4''' || 0
|-
! [[1996 NFL season|1996]] !! [[1996 St. Louis Rams season|STL]]
| 16 || 16 || 54 || 39 || '''15''' || 7.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || '''3'''
|-
! [[1997 NFL season|1997]] !! [[1997 St. Louis Rams season|STL]]
| 15 || 14 || 43 || 35 || 8 || 10.0 || 1 || 5 || 0 || 1 || 2
|-
! [[1998 NFL season|1998]] !! [[1998 Kansas City Chiefs season|KC]]
| 16 || 13 || 45 || 32 || 13 || 4.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
! [[1999 NFL season|1999]] !! [[1999 Kansas City Chiefs season|KC]]
| 16 || 10 || 28 || 22 || 6 || 5.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/O/ONeaLe00.htm Career] || 196 || 178 || 767 || 211 || 67 || 132.5 || 3 || 27 || 1 || 21 || 16
|}

==See also==
*[[List of National Football League career sacks leaders]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{footballstats|pfr=O/ONeaLe00}}

{{1985 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1986 NFL Draft}}
{{ChargersFirstPick}}
{{San Diego Chargers 1986 draft navbox}}
{{AP Defensive Rookies of the Year}}
{{100 sacks club}}
{{50Chargers}}
{{Los Angeles Chargers Hall of Fame}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneal, Leslie}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:American football defensive ends]]
[[Category:American football linebackers]]
[[Category:Kansas City Chiefs players]]
[[Category:NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year winners]]
[[Category:Oklahoma State Cowboys football players]]
[[Category:San Diego Chargers players]]
[[Category:St. Louis Rams players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Little Rock, Arkansas]]
[[Category:Hall High School (Arkansas) alumni]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]