West Liberty University Athletics

    An outstanding football player at West Liberty during the late 1950s, Tom O'Connell went on to a lengthy coaching career at the high school and collegiate levels.
    The Wheeling native was a two-way standout on West Liberty's 1956 WVIAC championship squad. After sitting out the 1957 campaign due to injury, he played three more seasons and capped his career by being selected as an All-WVIAC center and West Liberty MVP in 1960.
    After graduation, O'Connell spent nearly four decades coaching baseball, basketball and football at several local high schools. He won OVAC titles in basketball and football at Bishop Donahue High School. O'Connell also served as an assistant coach at West Liberty for five seasons, including a stint as offensive line coach on the Hilltoppers' 1979 WVIAC title team.