Standing Tall on the Sidelines

For 56 years, O’Neal has been a sideline official for the Eagles football team in Decatur, Texas.

In football, some men are famous for remarkable speed, while others are recognized for their brute strength or the finesse with which they throw the ball. Coy O’Neal, however, is famous for standing on the sidelines.

For 56 years, O’Neal has been a sideline official for the Eagles football team in Decatur, Texas (pop. 5,201). As part of the chain crew, he runs the down marker at all home football games, including varsity, junior varsity and middle school. At age 71, he’s a Decatur Eagles institution.

"He’s as much a part of the football team as the quarterback, the coaches and the fans," says Stephen Wren, longtime Decatur resident.

Greeted at the stadium by slaps on the back and handshakes, O’Neal is well known. His wiry, 6-foot-2-inch frame makes him easily recognizable, and conversation often leaves little time for a concession stand hot dog dinner.

O’Neal couldn’t have imagined his future notoriety, when at 15 he was pulled from the stands at an away game to help a short-handed chain crew. He says he’s "just done it ever since," and in 56 years, he’s only missed five home games.

"Football is one of my favorite sports, and I just enjoy being on the sidelines," O’Neal says. "Plus, just about the whole town comes to the games, so I get to see a lot of people I know."

"I see him almost every night of the week during football season," says head coach Kyle Story. "Coy’s always here supporting the team. He’s got a huge heart, and he’s someone who really cares about the kids."

On game nights, the high school band blares the Decatur fight song as players take the field. Coaches shout excitedly, straining to be heard over the cheering crowd, and in the midst of the mayhem stands O’Neal, feet planted shoulder-width apart, with one hand on the pole and the other on his hip. He usually walks slowly, but when it’s time to move the chains, he summons the energy for a stiff-legged trot.

As an official, he is not allowed to cheer for the team, and while he tries his best, there have been times he couldn’t help himself. In the 1960s, O’Neal had a rabbit’s foot that he rubbed for luck, recalls Gary Prescott, a former coach who played on the team at the time. During a district championship game, the score was tied, and the Eagles were driving down the field in the final minutes. O’Neal was rubbing that rabbit’s foot after every play and quietly chanting, "Go, Decatur, go," Prescott says.

O’Neal graduated from Decatur High School in 1954 and played football one year—not long enough to earn a treasured letter jacket. In the decades since, the team has given him five letter jackets in honor of his loyalty. "There were a lot of people there, and I was nervous," O’Neal says of receiving a jacket in 1999.

The spirit of dedication comes naturally to O’Neal, a warm-hearted man who has devoted himself to the three most significant things in his life: his wife, Laverne, who died in 2003, his work at the Decatur Church of Christ, and football.

"He’s a special person," Prescott says. "We worry about him now at his age, but who could ever take (his sideline post) away from him? He loves it so dearly."

O’Neal says he’s only been knocked down five times, and little do the fans know, but he’s got a plan. "I’d like to do it four more years," he says, which will bring his total years of service to 60.

As the fans file out of the stadium and the lights go down, O’Neal finds himself surrounded once again, sometimes by friends or players thanking him for being there. Humble and unassuming, he usually doesn’t have much to say. He brings a quiet spirit to the sidelines that he doesn’t even recognize, but the fans consider him a shining star in the Friday night lights of Decatur.

Kristen Tribe is a freelance writer in Decatur, Texas.

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