Joe Walton played end, fullback, and halfback, as well as defense, on the Beaver Falls High School teams of 1951 to 1953, leading Beaver County in scoring with 120 points in 1952 and in his senior year was named to both the All WPIAL and All State teams. He also batted .350 for the Beaver Falls baseball team and averaged 11 points per game for the Tigers in basketball. At the University of Pittsburgh, Joe started at tight end for three seasons, and was a consensus All American as a senior.

Joe set records of 14 touchdown passes in a career and 8 in a season. He played on Pitt teams that lost to Georgia Tech in the 1956 Sugar Bowl game, 7-3, and again to Tech in the 1957 Gator Bowl, 21-0. He also played in the East-West Shrine game, the Hula Bowl, and the College All Star game. Joe played tight end for the Washington Redskins from 1957 to 1960 and for the New York Giants from 1961 to 1963. As a pro, he caught 178 passes for 2623 yards and 28 touchdowns. He served as a special scout for the New York Giants (1967-1968) before taking over as a coach of receivers for five years.

Joe joined the Redskins as offensive backfield coach in 1974. Joe's father, Frank, also played for Beaver Falls and Pitt and played and coached for the Redskins.