Laval was born on January 15, 1885 in Columbia, South Carolina. At the age of 18, he coached baseball at Erskine College. The following year, he held the same position at Sewanee before returning to Erskine. From 1904 to 1905, he played baseball as a pitcher for Furman University. According to The State, there is no record of his enrollment at the school, however, which presumably made him a ringer. During the 1905 season, he proposed to his girlfriend Elizabeth, who responded "If you beat Clemson today, I will marry you." Laval pitched Furman to a win, 2–1, and the two were married soon after. He would later joke in speeches, "She has hated Clemson ever since."