The Leo High School Family congratulates Mike O’Neill, Class of 1967, on his induction into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame. Mike was recognized along with 14 other sports notables at a dinner at McCormick Place West on Sept. 7.
A two-sport athlete at Leo, Mike was a heavyweight basketball player and a standout lineman on two Lions football teams that played for the Catholic League championship in 1965 and 1966, losing to Loyola Academy both years.
He began his college career at Iowa State, then transferred to Western Illinois, playing two seasons with the Leathernecks before graduating in 1971.
After serving as an assistant on Tom Kavanaugh’s coaching staff at St. Laurence, Mike became head coach in 1978 and guided the Vikings to five Catholic League championships, a Prep Bowl title in 1978 and a runner-up finish in the state playoffs in 1979.
Moving on to Andrew High School from 1986 to 2005, Mike produced 130 victories, 11 conference championships, 11 state playoff appearances and two appearances in the state semifinals. Five of Mike’s former players and five of his former assistants have become head coaches at the high school level.
A member of the Leo Hall of Fame, Mike and his wife, Sheila, have been married 43 years and have three grown sons. The Leo Family salutes this exemplary Leo Man.