 Raffensperger played football and basketball at Iowa and then served as a high school football coach for 21 years before joining the Iowa Hawkeyes football staff as an assistant coach in 1948.Born in Victor, Iowa, Raffensperger did not play high school football, but he tried out for the football team at the University of Iowa and made the squad.He was a reserve lineman for coach Burt Ingwersen who did not see much playing time on the football field, though he did earn a letter with the Iowa basketball team as a sophomore in 1924–25.