Bansavage played college football at The Citadel and at Southern California.

He waived his final year of eligibility to sign with the Baltimore Colts after being selected in the 1960 AFL draft.

[2][3] Bansavage played professionally in the American Football League for the Los Angeles Chargers in 1960 and the AFL's Oakland Raiders in 1961.

He was at the center of a controversy in the 1960 season when the Raiders asked to have a game they lost to the Chargers forfeited due to Bansavage being an ineligible player.

[1] This biographical article relating to an American football linebacker born in the 1930s is a stub.