 After graduating in 1943, he passed up offers from both professional baseball and football teams to enlist in the US Marines, where he served for three years.He went on to play for the National Football League's Boston Yanks and New York Giants (1946-1948).After a lackluster 1948 season, Governali retired from professional football and returned to Columbia, where he worked as an assistant coach while pursuing his doctorate in education, which he received in 1951.