Bill O'Neal, Hon. Litt. D. (1962)

State Historian

image of Bill O'Neal

Class of 1962 | Inducted 1986

 

  • After graduating from Corsicana High School in 1960, he attended Navarro College and Texas A&M University-Commerce.

  • Served as an athletic director and head football coach at Anna High School (1967-1968) and Waskom High School (1968-1970).

  • Dr. Bill O'Neal was a State Historian of Texas (2012-2018) - second term reappointed by Governor Rick Perry.

  • Author of more than forty books, including The Johnson-Sims Feud, The Johnson County War, Historic Ranches of the Old West, Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters, and Cheyenne, 1867-1903.

  • O'Neal is a retired history professor at Panola College (1970-2011).

  • In 1973, O'Neal received the first annual "Excellent Teacher" award at Panola College.

  • In 2000, he became the first recipient of the Minnie Stevens Piper Professorship award at Panola College.

  • In 2005, O'Neal received the National Association of Outlaw and Lawmen Association (NOLA) award for his book, "The Johnson County War".

  • In 2007, True West Magazine named O'Neal the West's "Best Living Nonfiction Writer".

  • In 2012, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wild West History Association.

 

Bibliography

(from the Conservapedia website)

 
Western titles

  • "The Arizona Rangers" (1987).

  • "Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters" (1991).​

  • "Henry Brown, the Outlaw-Marshal (The Early West)"; published 1980.​

  • "Arizona Rangers" (1988)​.

  • "Cattlemen v. Sheepherders: Five Decades of Violence in the West, 1880-1920" (1989).​

  • "Fighting Men of the Indian Wars" (1991)​.

  • "Legends of the Wild West" (1995); with co-authors Dale Crutchfield and Dale L. Walker​.

  • "Ghost Towns of the American West" (1995)​.

  • "Best of the West" (1997)​.

  • "Historic Ranches of the Old West" (1997)​.

  • "The Bloody Legacy of Pink Higgins: A Half Century of Violence in Texas" (1999).​

  • "Great Gunfighters of the Wild West: Twenty Courageous Westerners Who Struggled With Right and Wrong, Good and Evil, Law and Order" (2001)​.

  • "The Wild West" (2002)​.

  • "Harry Wheeler, Arizona Lawman" (2003).​

  • "The Johnson County War" (2004)​.

  • "Cheyenne, 1867-1903: A Biography of the Magic City of the Plains" (2006)​.

  • "Brick Book Best of the West" (2007)​.

  • "Border Queen Caldwell, Toughest Town on the Chisolm Trail" (2008)​.

  • "The Johnson-Sims Feud: Romeo and Juliet, West Texas Style" (2010).

  • "West Texas Cattle Kingdom" (2013).

  • "Frontier Forts of Texas." (2018).

 
Baseball titles

​​*The Texas League 1888-1987: A Century of Baseball (1987)​.

  • "The American Association: A Baseball History, 1902-1991" (1992).​

  • "The International League: A Baseball History, 1884-1992" (1992).​

  • "The Pacific Coast League, 1903-1888" (1990).​

  • "The Southern League, 1885-1994" (1994).​

 

Children's books

  • "Great Gunfighters of the Wild West" (2001).​

  • "The First Thanksgiving - It Happened in Texas" (2000)​.

  • "Doris Miller, Hero of Pearl Harbor" (2007).​

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Other titles

  • "Tex Ritter: America's Most Beloved Cowboy" (Austin:Eakin Press, 1998​).

  • "Reel Cowboys" (2000)​.

  • "The Sons of the Pioneers" (2001), with co-author Fred Goodwin.​

  • "Sam Houston Slept Here: Guide to the Homes of Texas' Chief Executives" (2004).​

  • "War in East Texas: Regulators vs. Moderators" (2018).

  • "Reel Rangers': Texas Rangers in Movies, TV, Radio, and Other Forms of Popular Culture"

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