Dave Casper played three years of football at Elgin's St. Edward High School before moving to Chilton, Wisconsin. In his junior year at St. Edward he caught 15 passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns, punted 38 times for 1,265 yards, and was named to the divisional all—conference team. Casper attended Notre Dame University and played offensive tackle two years for the Fighting Irish, then switched to tight end. He was named an NCAA consensus All—American tight end on Notre Dame's 1973 national championship team. As a pass receiver in the National Football League for 11 seasons with the Oakland Raiders, Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Raiders, Dave caught 354 passes for 50 touchdowns and a total of 4,936 yards. He was named to The Sporting News AFC All—Star teams in 1976, 1977 and 1978. He appeared in five Pro Bowl games.