Miles Webster "Mike" Casteel (December 30, 1895 – March 27, 1977) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He played college football as the quarterback at

Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo College, also known as Kalamazoo, K College, KC or simply K, is a private liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, Kalamazoo is the oldest private college in ...

and also played one season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Rock Island Independents The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team, based in Rock Island, Illinois, from 1907 to 1926. The Independents were a founding National Football League franchise. They hosted what has been retrospectively designated ...

. He later served as the head football coach at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

in from 1939 to 1948, compiling a record of 46–26–3.

Early years

Casteel was born in

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...

. He attended

where he played football, basketball and track. He also served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, receiving the Silver Star for his performance in the artillery service at Verdun's north front. He returned to Kalamazoo after completing his military service, graduating in 1922. He played in the

as a back for the

during the 1922 season, appearing in six games.

Coaching

He began coaching at East Lansing High School in 1923 before joining Michigan Agricultural College as an assistant football coach in 1924. He also served as an assistant track coach at Michigan State and as a scout for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

between 1934 and 1938. In February 1939, he became the head football coach at the

. He held that position until 1948, compiling a 46–26–3 record. In January 1949, the school's board of regents voted to terminate Casteel as head football coach.

Later years

Casteel later served as director of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

's Sun Angel Foundation from 1950 to 1973. He died in 1977 at age 81.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casteel, Mike 1895 births 1977 deaths American football quarterbacks American men's basketball players Arizona Wildcats football coaches Kalamazoo Hornets football players Kalamazoo Hornets men's basketball players Michigan State Spartans football coaches Rock Island Independents players College men's track and field athletes in the United States College track and field coaches in the United States United States Army personnel of World War I Sportspeople from Elmira, New York People from St. Johns, Michigan Coaches of American football from Michigan Players of American football from Michigan Basketball players from Michigan