Victor "Vic" Castillo never had been out of San Antonio, much less Texas, before he took a trip to Manhattan, Kan., to visit Kansas State as a football recruit during the winter of 1963.
A senior at Brackenridge High School then, Castillo had helped lead the Eagles to the Class 4A state championship in 1962 as one of the most prolific passers in state history.
"Playing college football was the furthest thing in my mind when I got to Brackenridge," Castillo said this week. "I was a scrawny little guy who played on the 'B' team for two years before I made it to the varsity as a senior. I wanted to go to college, but I didn't know if I would be able to do it financially."
Castillo, a retired high school coach and administrator who still lives in San Antonio, recalled that recruiting trip to Manhattan, Kan., 52 years ago when we visited at his home.
"I remember they flew me up there," he said. "I was taken aback. I remember thinking, wow, I'm actually riding in a plane. Once I got there, I had no idea what to expect. They took me out and showed me the little town. Manhattan is a typical college town. It probably didn't have 20,000 in it back then."
Also recruited by Trinity, Texas A&I, New Mexico State and North Texas, Castillo signed with Kansas State and led the Wildcats in passing in 1965 and 1966.
With Kansas State playing UCLA in the Alamo Bowl on Friday night at the Alamodome, I thought it would be interesting to visit with Castillo and get his thoughts on college football today and hear stories about his days as a Wildcat.
"It's not a simple game to play, especially if you're a quarterback," Castillo said, talking about college football today. "The game has really changed. It's a lot faster now."
Castillo, 69, isn't going to the Alamo Bowl but plans to watch it on TV at home.
"I try to keep up with K-State as much as possible," he said. "I've got very fond memories of attending Kansas State. Even though I didn't graduate from there, they gave me the opportunity to continue with my education beyond high school.
"Like I said, I'd always wanted to go to college, but the biggest question mark in that decision was whether we could afford it as a family. The fact that Kansas State came around after my final season at Brack and offered me a scholarship is something that I really appreciate."
Gratitude aside, Castillo acknowledged he likely would have made a different college choice if he had known just how bad the K-State football program was in those days. When Castillo arrived on campus in 1963, the Wildcats had languished through eight consecutive losing seasons since finishing 7-3 in 1954.
"There was really no one to give me any type of direction," Castillo said.
Then he chuckled.
"If had gotten some direction, I probably would not have gone to Kansas State because I would have looked into their record. And their record was atrocious."
Actually, Castillo almost played somewhere else. Even though he had signed a letter of intent with K-State, Castillo started preseason workouts at Trinity in the summer of 1963. But Castillo stayed at Trinity for only a few days before boarding a Greyhound bus and making the long trip to Manhattan.
K-State never had a winning season when Castillo played for the Wildcats and eventually finished with losing records for 14 consecutive years before going 5-5 in 1969. K-State didn't win a game in the two seasons Castillo led the team in passing, finishing 0-10 in 1965 and 0-9-1 in 1966.
The Wildcats were 2-7 in 1963, Castillo's freshman season, and 3-7 in 1964. Castillo didn't play on the varsity in 1963 because NCAA rules prohibited freshmen from varsity competition, and he missed the 1964 season after he was kicked off the team for violating team rules.
"I had the choice of coming home or staying there," Castillo said. "I paid my way for one semester at K-State. I had a little assistance from our assistant athletic director, who let me stay in the basement of his house. So that was pretty good.
"I could have easily come home and said, 'The heck with it. I don't need this.' But I decided to stay. There was a lot of self-motivation because I knew there would be consequences if I didn't make it. It was icing on the cake to be able to persevere, survive. It was difficult. I had to ride a bike downtown to a bus station, but it worked out and I continued my education there."
Castillo rejoined the team at the beginning of the spring semester in 1965 and became the starting quarterback that year. He completed 60 of 159 passes for a school-record 734 yards, and two touchdowns.
Castillo dropped a bit statistically the next season, hitting 44 of 113 attempts for 617 yards and two TDs. Although he still had a year of eligibility left, Castillo decided to leave K-State when head coach Doug Weaver was fired after the 1966 season. He transferred to Kansas City Teachers College, now Emporia State, and completed his college career with the Hornets in 1967.
"It was really a nice time at Emporia State," Castillo said.
Castillo earned his degree in physical education at Kansas City Teachers College in 1968, and began his career as a Head Start teacher in 1969 in Overland Park, Kan. After five years, he took a job as a coach at Johnson County Community College in Overland.
Castillo worked at Johnson County until moving back to San Antonio in 1977, when he joined the coaching staff at Sam Houston. He stayed in his hometown for the rest of his career, coaching at Fox Tech and Lanier before becoming an administrator.
After serving as an assistant principal at Brack for 10 years, Castillo retired but still worked as a substitute administrator. He became a full-time assistant principal at Jay in 2007 and remained at the Northside ISD school until retiring in 2012.
Castillo still ranks as one of the best high school quarterbacks in San Antonio history. He was outstanding in Brackenridge's 30-26 victory against Borger in the 1962 4A state final, completing 14 of 28 passes for 256 yards and three TDs.
His passing-yardage total stood as a record for a 4A state championship until Lee's Tommy Kramer threw for 257 yards in the Volunteers' 28-27 win over Wichita Falls in 1971.
Castillo completed 112 of 225 passes for 2,145 yards and 25 TDs in 1962. He was the first high school player in state history to pass for more than 2,000 yards in a season.
