Paul Castner

Paul Henry Castner
(Lefty)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 187 lb.
• School University of Notre Dame
• High School Saint Thomas Academy
• Debut August 6, 1923
• Final Game October 2, 1923
• Born February 16, 1897 in St. Paul, MN USA
• Died March 3, 1986 in St. Paul, MN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Left-hander Paul Castner was a Notre Dame baseball and football star who signed with the Chicago White Sox during the 1923 season. He took the mound in six games, pitching ten innings with a 6.30 ERA. That brief look proved to be the entirety of his professional baseball career.

Castner served in World War I with the US Army's 36th Engineering Battalion before going to college. He received a football scholarship to attend Notre Dame even though he had not played football in high school: legendary coach Knute Rockne felt Paul's schoolboy prowess in hockey and baseball guaranteed he would be a success on the gridiron as well. He was already 22 as a freshman as a result of his military service. He was quite active during his student days, serving as President of his freshman class and President of the Advertising Club. He captained the baseball team and was considered the best hockey player in the school, scoring approximately two thirds of the team's 55 goals during the 1922 season. There had been no hockey team when he arrived at school, so he formed the program, becoming its coach, its captain and its star player.

Castner's name is routine among Notre Dame football records. He led the team in scoring with 62 points during the 1922 season, with eight touchdowns, two field goals and ten extra points. He also led in kickoff returns with eleven for 490 yards, a 44.5 yard return average, still the school record. He is also the career kickoff return leader, as his 767 yards were gained on a 36.5 yard per return average. On November 4, 1922, against Indiana, Paul scored on touchdowns of 40, 35 and 46 yards playing fullback. His first assignment as a Notre Dame football player had been as the blocking back for the legendary George Gipp.

Paul attracted his fair share of major league scouts as well, with several strong pitching performances during his senior year with the Fighting Irish. On May 17, 1922, he threw a 4-0 no-hitter against Purdue in front of 4,000 fans at Lafayette Park. He fanned seven and walked only one.

After his brief baseball career, Castner did not seek to make a living from sports, entering the world of business instead. He worked for the Studebaker automobile corporation, headquartered in South Bend, IN, as a sales director. He married in 1929 and had two sons, born in 1930 and 1933. He later became an agent with the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in various locations, until returning to his native St. Paul, MN in the mid-1950s, where he worked for the Knights of Columbus's insurance arm. He was very active in the Notre Dame alumni association during those years and co-wrote a book on his former college football coach, We Remember Rockne, published in 1975. He passed away in St. Paul in 1986, aged 89.

Related Sites

• Paul Castner at the SABR Bio Project