Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Boedeker grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and attended the city's North Side High School.
[1] He enlisted in the United States Army immediately after graduating from high school in 1942 and was sent to a military program at DePaul University in Chicago.
[4] He stayed in Chicago for one year before being traded to the AAFC's Cleveland Browns for end John Harrington and tackle Jim Daniell.
[5] Boedeker played as a halfback in Cleveland as part of a rushing attack that featured Marion Motley and Edgar Jones.
[1] Cleveland finished the 1947 season with a 12–1–1 record with Boedeker in the backfield and beat the New York Yankees in the AAFC championship game.
[7] A third championship followed in 1949, but the AAFC dissolved after the season and the Browns were absorbed into the more established National Football League (NFL).