Lake Forest College

Growing up in Waukegan, Illinois, Neal attended Waukegan Township High School.

He entered Lake Forest College in 1922 and earned varsity letters in football, baseball, track and basketball.  A history major, Neal was also a member of Phi Pi Epsilon.

Following graduation, he became a sales engineer at Cyclone Fence Company.  He then took a position as field engineer at Hazlet, Sommers and Erdahl Engineering Company and was a partner at Hassey News Agency.  Neal then established his own wholesale newspaper distribution company, the Brookfield News Agency.  He was the director of both the Mid-west Distributors Association and Mid-America Periodical Distributors Association.  Neal served his alma mater as a class agent and a member of the Executive Board of the Alumni Association.