Dell, who won a gold medal at the 1965 Summer Universiade in the men's doubles with Allen Fox, attended the University of Michigan from 1965 to 1969.

[1] Following basic training, Dell became a squash and tennis coach at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

As a singles player he made the second round of the US Open on three occasions and came close to getting a win over Rod Laver in Hong Kong in 1973 when he was a set and a break up.

[3] He had his most noted singles performances on tour in 1974, when he upset John Alexander at a WCT tournament in Washington DC and made the semi-finals in Chicago, after beating Raúl Ramírez in the quarter-finals.

At the 1975 Wimbledon Championships, Dell and Stewart made it to the third round of the doubles, where they took former champions Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan to five sets.