Castro was born in 1959[1] and grew up in Shady Side, Maryland. He attended the University of Maryland with the intention of earning a scholarship as a baseball pitcher, but contracted mononucleosis during his first semester which caused him to miss the try-outs. After he recuperated, Castro decided to try out for the football team as a walk-onplacekicker, a position he had played in high school. During his sophomore year, he was offered a scholarship. He joined another Maryland walk-on that season who gained national recognition, Charlie Wysocki, who was the nation's rushing leader in 1979.[2]
In 1979, Castro tied the NCAA record for most field goals in a half, with four against Mississippi State. In the fourth quarter of that game, he made a fifth field goal.[2] He set a then-NCAA record when he made his first 16 field goal attempts. In total, he made 17 field goals during the season.[3] Castro was named a consensus first-team All-American by the NCAA selectors: the Walter Camp Football Foundation, United Press International, Football Writers Association of America, and The Sporting News.[4] He concluded his collegiate career in 1980, and as the end of 2008 season, he remains the school's fourth-ranked player in career punting yards (8,584), seventh-ranked in field goal percentage (69.2%), and tenth-ranked in career field goals (27).[3]
In 2003, Castro left High Point to become the head football coach at Annapolis High School.[14] He resigned after one season when he could not secure a full-time position as a guidance counselor at the school. Castro said, "I think the Annapolis High football program needs a coach who works in the building. The kids deserve a full-time coach."[15] In 2009, he was inducted into the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame.[3] In 1997, he was inducted into the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame.[16]
References
^ ab"Dale Castro". ArenaFan Online. Retrieved July 27, 2009.