70 years old, born in Atlanta, 5’ 7” tall, weigh in at 208 pounds. I know, I know, I’m fat but hide it well don’t you think? I’m also bald headed; have been since 23 and used to it. Having hair on my head would seem like a lot of trouble to me. Married to Gail Olivia Williams (yes, her name was Williams before we married). We went to high school together near Atlanta and were acquainted but not close friends. She sat across from me in home room for 4 years. I enjoyed the view. WOW. Gail Williams was the prettiest girl in high school, was awarded as such by her peers in our Senior Class, and if you’ve seen her on the webpage, she’s still is the prettiest lady wherever she goes.
We met again when I was a freshman at Emory and a fraternity brother had asked me to ask her for a blind date. He had seen a photo of her in my yearbook. She said she didn’t go out on blind dates but had wanted to date me for many years. Sure! I just caught her in a weak moment. For our very first date, we went to a baseball game in which I played shortstop going 0 for 3, flied out to right three times on pitches low and outside. That guy had a great curve. Since our first date that night, over 51 years ago, I’m still being coached from the sidelines and loving it all. I asked her to marry me a few weeks later, obviously another weak moment on her part. We did so three years later in June of 1965, the same week I graduated from Emory. We’ve been married for 48+ years.
In high school, I wrestled and played football (until the typical knee injury and operation ended all that), and was an All-State baseball player as a senior setting a record in the Georgia High School Baseball Association with a batting average of .567. That average is the second highest ever recorded for a high school player in the history of the State and lasted for 23 years. I was proud. In mid season of that remarkable year, I was batting a cool .818. OK, a few bloop singles fell in.
I graduated from Emory University with a BA degree in Economics. I am a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity. In 2013, I was awarded Significant Sig Status, one of only 1500 since the start of the fraternity in 1935. I am very proud. At Emory, I wrestled, a diver on the swim team, a sprinter in track and the soccer goalie. I was an average student at best but boy did I have a good time. Immediately after college, I worked in sales management in the food industry until finding that Television and Radio was more my style. Telling stories about hunting and fishing is more interesting than those about hot dogs.
In the Spring of 1987, at 43 years old, I finished 3rd in the Atlanta Body Building Championship. Don’t get excited, it was in the Masters’ Division and didn’t have much competition, more than 2 but not many. I’ll put the photos on the site one day when Gail will let me. I lost 43 pounds for that night on stage and never want to do that again. I damn near starved.
I like to eat. It’s one of my remaining passions.
Gail and I have two daughters that live nearby. Amy, our oldest, is married, helps me run the company and has two children; Travis is 22 and has his own outdoor show, Lorrie is 20 and is to be an operating room nurse. Our youngest daughter, Allison, is married and deeply involved in our television, radio, newsletter and website operations.
Gail and I spend part of our time at the “Lean-to Lodge”, a small cabin in the North Georgia Mountains often broadcasting “O’Neill Outside” radio from there. Maybe you’ve heard us doing that. I’m usually in my shorts. It’s a disgusting visual. Don’t try it.
Gail and I work every day. You think all this is easy? Every week on average, 52 weeks a year, over 1.4 million outdoorsmen and women will watch the television show, listen to the radio show, view our newsletters or visit www.oneilloutside.com.
In 2014, our television show will witness its 33rd season. It began in 1982 as “The Metro-Channel Sports Fishing Report”, a Thursday night 15-minute interview program on local Atlanta cable. The program now airs on NBC Sports, Destination America, FOX SportSouth, and Sun Sports networks 52 weeks a year, reaches 171,000,000 subscriber households and has a weekly audience of more than 350,000 deeply disturbed outdoorsmen and women.
“O’Neill Outside” radio airs on from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday mornings on Atlanta’s WSB Radio and can be heard over 38 Southern and East Coast States. Gail is the call screener and producer of the show. I just talk. The weekly audience for our 20-plus year old radio program is over 400,000.
Anyway Gail and I arise on Saturday mornings at 2:30 a.m. and drive to WSB in downtown Atlanta finishing at 6 a.m. Hope you listen and appreciate it.
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