Markham was born Dale John Markham on July 24, 1957 in Whitewater, Wisconsin. He starred with his family in the educational shorts Farm Family in Autumn, Farm Family in Spring, Farm Family in Summer, and Farm Family in Winter. These shorts showed what life was like on the farm during different seasons.
College career
He played football at the University of North Dakota. During his college career, he played on the defensive line and wore jersey number 80. He graduated with a degree in industrial technology in 1980.
Markham was claimed on procedural waivers by the Chiefs on July 17, 1981 and then was released on August 3, 1981. During this period, he would briefly rejoin his college teammate and friend, Todd Thomas as a member of the Chiefs' roster. They remain as the only two players from North Dakota ever drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs, Markham was the first in 1980 and Thomas followed him a year later in 1981.
St. Louis Cardinals
On August 8, 1981 the Cardinals signed Markham off waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs and then released him on August 25, 1981. He was re-signed on December 10, 1981 and played in their final two games of the 1981 season. These games included a home game against his former team, the New York Giants and on December 20, 1981, his final regular season game as an NFL player, a road game versus the Philadelphia Eagles. In 1982, he reported to the Cardinals' Training Camp, at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, but was released as part of the final cuts on September 6, 1982.
On September 14, 1982, Markham was placed on a 14-day trial with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. This would temporarily reunite Markham with college teammates, running backMilson Jones and defensive tackleStan Mikawos, both of whom were North Dakota alumni and on the 1982 Blue Bombers roster.
Markham signed with the Oakland Invaders of the United States Football League on January 26, 1983 and went on to play in 54 regular season and four playoff games between 1983 and 1985. He was just one of nine players from the Invaders' inaugural March 6, 1983 roster that would still be around during the 1985 season. During his tenure with the Invaders, he played tackle and wore jersey number 72. On July 14, 1985, Markham played in the 1985 championship game held at Giants Stadium, the last USFL game ever played.
Markham attended the Packers’ training camp in 1985. On August 17, 1985 he returned to a familiar venue, Giants Stadium to play in a Saturday nightexhibition game against his former team, the New York Giants. Notable was the fact that only 34-days earlier he played in the USFL championship game at this same location. The Green Bay Packers released Markham on August 28, 1985.
