Born in West Hoboken, New Jersey (now part of Union City) to parents of Armenian descent, Avedisian grew up in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and graduated from Pawtucket Senior High School (PSHS, now known as the William E. Tolman High School) in 1936.
He then joined the New York Football Giants where he played right guard under coach Steve Owen from 1942 to 1944 while he was a student at Columbia pursuing an M.A.
[2] At 5'9" and 225 pounds he would be considered rather small by today's norm for a guard where players at this position typically exceed 6' and weigh more than 300 lbs.
[6] The 1944 Giants are ranked as the #1 defensive team in NFL history in terms of points per game allowed, "...a truly awesome unit".
[8] The next week the Giants lost 14–7 in the 1944 NFL Championship Game - the equivalent of today's Super Bowl - played at New York's Polo Grounds to a Green Bay Packers team coached by Curly Lambeau of Lambeau Field fame.
Avedisian received many honors for his accomplishments as a physical education administrator including the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance's Channing Mann Award [15] in 1977 for excellence in the administration of athletic programs in public schools.