Career
A native of Turlock, California, Larson played college football at the quarterback position for the California Golden Bears football team He was selected by the Football Writers Association of America as the first-team quarterback on its 1954 College Football All-America Team. He was selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the eighth round (86th overall pick) of the 1954 NFL Draft and played for the Cardinals in five games during the 1957 NFL season.
He later appeared in one game for the Oakland Raiders in 1960.