He attended high school at Waite High School in Toledo, Ohio. He attended Washington & Jefferson College. At one time, Washington & Jefferson proclaimed him to be the largest college football player, weighing in at 303 pounds; however that weight was taken at halftime of a particularly muddy game and Pauly's weight was inflated by over 40 pounds. His actual weight at the time was 256 pounds. Following his professional career, he coached high school football at Waite High School. He also worked as attendance officer for the board of education.