Backstrom played college baseball and basketball at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, where he is a member of the schools Athletic Hall of Fame.
[1] Backstrom played in minor league baseball as a pitcher.
[3] While at Kansas Wesleyan, Backstrom taught classes for the history department.
[4] In 1996, the school inducted him into their "Athletic Hall of Fame" for his coaching success.
This biographical article relating to a college football coach first appointed in the 1960s is a stub.