Born February 23, 1956, Calhoun began playing football at the age of 10 as a member of the Austintown Wildcats, later playing with the Austintown Little Falcons as a 12 and 13 year-old aspiring gridder.
A 1974 graduate of Austintown Fitch High School, he was a three-year starter and letterwinner for the Falcons where he starred as a guard on the offensive side of the ball, later moving over to his familiar linebacker slot defensively.
A first-team all-Steel Valley Conference selection at guard as a senior, he graded out at 92 percent in their game against Canton GlenOak that year and was the only Falcons’ player that year to earn first-team – seven teammates went on to earn second-team honors – all-league laurels.
Upon graduation he went on to star on the gridiron for West Liberty State University, earning four more letters while starting every game for the Hilltoppers from 1974-77.He played collegiately for Leo Miller, arriving in time for Miller’s first season and as a standout guard his freshman and sophomore seasons , the team posted 5-4-0 and 3-4-3 records, respectively. As a junior in 1976, he was moved to linebacker and helped the team to a 4-6-0 overall mark, the team going 2-2 in the WVIAC (West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) all three seasons.
In 1977, his senior year, the Hilltoppers posted a 3-6-1 overall mark, went 1-3 in the league and during his four seasons at WLSC, the team finished 15-20-3 in 38 games played, going 7-9 in 16 league contests.
He started every game during his four seasons at West Liberty State, was all-WVIAC his final three seasons, earned conference and Dapper Dan “Defensive Player of the Year” honors as a senior and that same year was awarded honorable mention All-America plaudits.
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He graduated in 1978 and later played semi-pro football for the Youngstown Hardhats, continuing to play well into his 40’s in the vaunted Youngstown Touch Football League. He also played softball in the highly-competitive Steel Valley Slo-Pitch League, earning “Player of the Year” honors in both leagues in 1992. While with the Hilltoppers he set the school record for tackles in a game with 21 – that came against Salem College on September 10, 1977 – and tackles in a season (192), both coming his senior campaign.
He retired as an area manager for WCI Steel after 34 years and along with wife, Barbara, have a son Timothy, who is a graduate of Hiram College. They reside in Boardman.
