He was named the starter of the 1961 team coached by Woody Hayes that won the Big Ten Conference, but the Ohio State faculty council wanting to show that football was not overemphasized, voted against sending the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl.
[5] On August 24, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a draft choice, after the team decided to keep 40-year-old Lou Groza as the starter.
[6] In 1964, the Dallas Cowboys were looking for a replacement for Sam Baker, and when rookie Billy Lothridge couldn't fill the kicker role, the team acquired Van Raaphorst and named him the starter.
Van Raaphorst was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1968 AFL expansion draft from the San Diego Chargers roster,[9] but he opted to retire instead of reporting to the team.
[10] His son Jeff Van Raaphorst played quarterback in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons and received the 1987 Rose Bowl MVP award.