He served as the head football coach at the University of South Dakota from 1931 to 1933, compiling a record of 11–16–1.
[2] He entered the United States Army in 1917 and served during World War I as a captain in the engineers.
During World War II, he was the commander of Manila in the Philippines, following the liberation of the city by Douglas MacArthur's forces.
After the war, Backman served in occupied Germany as member of the Diplomatic Corps with the Inter-Allied Rhineland Commission.
[3] In 1946, he was nominated by United States President Harry S. Truman to be a regional director within the War Assets Administration.