A four-sport participant during his days in high school, Dan Wile made his name on the gridiron at Salem Community High School.

Wile’s football success at Salem in the 1953 season led him to a collegiate career at the University of Illinois and enshrinement into the Salem Community High School Sports Hall of Fame.

Wile, whose older brother Don was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986, played a big role in the Wildcats 8-1 season in 1953. Wile, a fullback, carried the ball 116 times for 890 yards, a 7.7 average. He was especially tough near the goal line, as he scored 13 touchdowns that season. That included a trio of scores in a 19-6 victory over Centralia.

On five different occasions he cracked the 100-yard barrier in rushing with a season high 165 yards in the season opener against Lawrenceville. He later added games of 158 yards against Flora, 114 against Fairfield, 131 against Centralia and 103 against Benton.

Wile made his presence known by more ways than just his running. He had scores off punt returns, fumble recoveries and pass receiving, where he had an average of 17.2 yards per reception.

Wile, a North Egypt Conference First Team selection, was also a backup punter where he had a solid 33.2 average in four attempts. After high school Wile left Salem for the University of Illinois where he played for the Fighting Illini in the 1955 season.

When he left college, Wile went into a 19-year high school coaching career where he coached football, basketball, track, wrestling, golf and baseball. He was also an athletic director for 15 years.