An outfielder born in Garland, Utah, his only Major League Baseball experience came in the middle of the 1951 season as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Van Noy attended Utah State University, where he excelled in four sports: baseball, football, basketball and track.

He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the tenth round of the 1950 National Football League Draft, but elected to play baseball.

He drew a base on balls off Sal Maglie of the New York Giants in his first at bat, but seven subsequent plate appearances produced six strikeouts and Van Noy returned to the minor leagues for good.

From 1957–1959, while he was still an active player, Van Noy spent his springs as head baseball coach at Brigham Young University, where he fashioned a 50–24–1 win–loss record.