TCU Great Passes Away

[50's PONY]

Former TCU basketball great [deleted] O’Neal dies
Posted Wednesday, Sep. 18, 2013

By Stefan Stevenson

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Former TCU basketball great [deleted] O’Neal died Wednesday at his home in Weatherford. O’Neal (1955-57), the only three-time All-American for the Horned Frogs, averaged 28.2 points per game his first season and finished with a career 23.9 scoring average, a school record. He was 78.

The cause of death has yet to be released. He is survived by his wife Gayle and three grown sons and daughter. O’Neal was a longtime orthodontist in Fort Worth before retiring. He was an active member of the TCU Letterman’s Board of Directors and served on the Alumni Association board.

“Dick O’Neal’s legend lives on to this day,” said John Denton, the TCU Frog Club’s director of major gifts and longtime radio color man. “TCU fans still talk about his accomplishments on the hardwood in the 50s like it was yesterday. That’s how big an icon he was for the program. News of his passing was a shock to me. Doc will be missed.”

O’Neal, a forward, was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 1957 NBA draft. He ranks fourth all-time in scoring at TCU with 1,723 points and fourth with 790 rebounds, averaging 11 per game in his career. He has two of TCU’s top five scoring games, including 49 points against Rice in 1955 and 45 points against Austin College in 1954.

He was the first TCU men’s basketball player to have his jersey honored in March 2010


[deleted] O'Neal was a great player for TCU. He and Jim Krebs use to have hook shot duels. During those years the difference between SMU and the rest of the SWC was the fantastic supporting cast we had (Art Barnes, Tom Miller, Joel Krog, Ronnie Morris, Bob McGregor, Rick Herrscher, Bobby Mills, Larry Showalter, and Ned Duncan). It was because of these guys that we won 4 straight SWC Championships, 4 straight NCAA appearances, and one Final Four. What a team!
SMU Heritage Hall