Tipton played college football at Duke University as a running back and punter. While there, the Blue Devils won 25 games and lost only four, and won the Southern Conference championship in 1936 and 1938.[1] For his college career, he rushed for 1,633 yards and scored 17 touchdowns.[2] One of his most notable games came against Pittsburgh in 1938. During the game, Tipton had seven punts that stayed within Pitts' own 10-yard line, and another seven stopped inside the 20-yard line, as Duke won 7–0.[1]
During his off-season from baseball, Tipton was initially freshman football coach beginning in 1939 and in 1946 became an assistant football coach at The College of William & Mary. From 1953–57 he served as W&M's baseball coach prior to moving to West Point in 1957, where he was the lightweight football coach and baseball team head coach at the United States Military Academy. In 20 seasons at West Point, his baseball teams were 234–201–5 and won three league titles. His lightweight football teams were 104–14–1 for a .878 winning percentage with 13 league titles.[1]
Honors
For his athletic ability as a student Tipton was named to the Duke University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1976 in the second induction year. He joined the William & Mary Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989 after serving as a coach from 1939–1957 and, at the time, was one of few non-William & Mary graduation coaches inducted. Tipton was named to the Army Sports Hall of Fame (at the United States Military Academy) in 2005 in the second induction year; he was the first two-sport head coach honored at West Point. Tipton was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1978.
