He attended Valparaiso High School in Indiana, before playing college football for Chicago.
After graduating from Chicago, Engstrom played for the Duluth Kelleys of the National Football League (NFL) in 1924.
The first was an exhibition tie against the Ironwood Legion, in which he was starting left guard.
[1] He also started in the first game of the regular season, a 6–3 win over the Green Bay Packers.
[2] He did not play for the rest of the season, and was not on a team in the next year, finishing his career with just one game at the professional level.