 Like his father, he played college football, wearing number 51 as a standout end for the Minnesota Golden Gophers from 1931 to 1933 and was a member of one of the All-America squads in 1931–32.He was chosen for the 1933 East–West Shrine Game played in San Francisco and he played for the East All-Stars in the Century of Progress International Exposition game at Soldier Field in Chicago that same year.He was also a forward on the Gophers basketball team, serving as its captain in 1932–33.