Dale Donoho lettered in three sports at Salem Community High School as a hard running tailback and played four years of football at West Texas State University.

Donoho, a 1966 graduate, lettered four years in football and as a three-year regular ball carrier averaged over six yards per carry. His senior year was capped with 996 yards on 166 carries on the Wildcat team that finished with an 8-1 record and the North Egypt Conference Championship.

His senior year, he scored 14 touchdowns, and caught six passes for 74 yards. As a junior, Donoho scored 15 touchdowns while gaining 867 yards on 141 carries. His sophomore year, he carried 54 times for 351 yards and caught four passes for 60 yards, scoring four touchdowns and five extra points.

Post-season honors for Donoho in high school were NEC All-Conference Team, Evansville Sunday Courier All-South Team and North Egypt Conference Player of the Year, Chicago Daily American All-State Team, Rockford All-State Team, and Chicago Daily News All-State Team.

After high school, Donoho played for four years on a football scholarship at West Texas State University, playing in the Junior Rose Bowl at Pasadena, California in 1969. He received invitations from the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams for tryouts following his college career, but opted to return to Salem.

After his high school and college playing days, he was an assistant coach for the Selmaville North and Selmaville South basketball teams for four years; served five years as a coach of a Salem Little League team, and four years as a coach for a Salem Babe Ruth League team. In his recreational time, he played basketball for 10 years with the Salem ACCO team in the Salem Community League.