Dale Austin, longtime Sun and Washington Star racing reporter, dies

Dale Austin, a retired Baltimore Sun reporter whose coverage of Maryland horse racing spanned a half-century and took him on assignments as far away as England, died in his sleep Friday at his Bayside Beach home. He was 81.

Born on St. Patrick's Day in Poteau, Okla., Mr. Austin was the son of Jefferson Davis and Eula Grace Austin. He graduated in the late 1940s from Bokoshe High School.

While a senior engineering student at Oklahoma State University, Mr. Austin was drafted by the Army and served two years at Fort Myer in Northern Virginia. He then took an opening for a part-time sports writer at The Washington Post in 1959.

He wrote for the Washington Star and the Air Force Times before joining The Evening Sun in January 1962. Mr. Austin's career highlights included covering the Grand National in England.

Mr. Austin, who retired from the newspaper in December 1990, served as president of the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters and of the Maryland Racing Media Association. In his retirement, the award-winning journalist wrote for The Capital in Annapolis.

Full story: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-05-10/news/bs-md-ob-dale-austin-20140510_1_maryland-horse-industry-board-ross-peddicord-baltimore-sun

Attribution: Yvonne Wenger, The Baltimore Sun

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