Karow was a fullback on the Ohio State University football team from 1924 through 1926.
After college, he became a backup infielder in Major League Baseball who played in six games for the Boston Red Sox in the 1927 season.
Following his playing career, Karow served as the basketball head coach of the University of Texas during the 1934–35 and 1935–36 seasons and as a baseball coach at the United States Naval Academy (1936).
He later coached for the Texas A&M University (1938–1941, 1948–1950) and Ohio State University baseball teams, leading the Buckeyes to the College World Series four times (1951, 1965–1967), including the 1966 College World Series title.
Karow died of a heart attack, at age 81, on April 27, 1986, in Bryan, Texas.