He played college football and baseball at Iowa State University and the New Mexico Military Institute.

[2] Although drafted in 1966 by the Cardinals he spent most of his first 3 seasons on their taxi squad, only being briefly activated but not playing in 1967.

[3] His first NFL action came on opening day of 1972 when he started at quarterback for the Cardinals and led them to a 10–3 victory over the Baltimore Colts.

[5][2] He was waived by the Cardinals and picked up by the Cincinnati Bengals before the 1973 season to replace the injured Virgil Carter as Ken Anderson's backup.

[6][3][7] The Bengals released him after an opening game loss in which Van Galder did not play and replaced him with Mike Ernst.