Dickson was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the 1959 NFL Draft. The Rams used him as a backup offensive tackle. He was waived on September 13, 1960.
On September 12, 1961, the Cleveland Browns traded him along with Jim Marshall, Jim Prestel, Dick Grecni, Jamie Caleb and Billy Gault, to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a second-round choice and an eleventh-round pick.
Minnesota Vikings
Dickson was one of the original players in the Minnesota Vikings inaugural season. Following the trade, he was switched from right offensive tackle to defensive tackle - a position he would play for the rest of his career. In practice, he was known for playing at full-speed, much to the irritation of his teammates on the offensive side of the ball. He was the regular starter at right defensive tackle and a key player from 1962 to 1967. In 1968, he was passed on the depth chart by future hall of famer Alan Page. The next year, although he was a backup, he was still considered a part of the Vikings' famous "Purple People Eaters" or "The Four Norsemen" defensive line, which consisted mainly of Marshall, Page, Gary Larsen, and Carl Eller. He played in Super Bowl IV at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs. In 1971, he spent time on the team's taxi squad before being released.
St. Louis Cardinals
On November 10, 1971, he was claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Cardinals, where he was reunited with his former defensive line coach with the Vikings, Bob Hollway, then in his first season as Cardinals head coach. He Joined the team on November 20, after reconsidering his retirement decision. He was cut during the 1972 training camp.
On May 3, 1972, he was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Bears, but was released before the start of the season.
Personal life
Dickson returned to Minneapolis, after his one season in St. Louis, to live and work in sales, marketing and customer relations for computer companies. He was also a member and president of the Minnesota chapter of the NFL Alumni Association. He was nicknamed "Suitcase" because of his large hands and feet. In January 1971, he joined Viking teammate Marshall in a snowmobile excursion that ended in tragedy. Planning to travel across the Great Divide of the Rocky Mountains, a party of 16 became fragmented, and then got caught in a blizzard, having to spend a frigid night in the snow with few provisions. Dickson, Marshall and three others huddled together in a grove of trees, and lit all the cash they had on them -- "Hundreds, twenties, ones, they were all the same denomination: burnable," Marshall said—in order to start a small fire to avoid freezing. Although everyone was rescued the next day, Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Hugh Galusha died of hypothermia. On June 7, 2011, he died of a blood infection. He was survived by his second wife Maureen and his two sons Scott and Slade from his first marriage.
