He grew up in Roxbury, Massachusetts, attended Boston English High School, and played on the football team in his sophomore year with limited success.

After graduating in 1935, Kahn tried out for the Boston Redskins, making the team as a guard and becoming the third North Carolina player to join the NFL.

[1] The owner George Preston Marshall gave Kahn permission to sit out the first game in 1935 because it fell on Rosh Hashanah.

He led the Hazelton Redskins to the Eastern Pennsylvania League and Dixie Championships before retiring from football at the end of the season.

"[2] Kahn volunteered for the United States Army when the country entered World War II, joining the infantry.