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. For his college career, he rushed for 1,633 yards and scored 17 touchdowns. 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.

Tipton was drafted in the thirteenth round of the 1939 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, but chose to play professional baseball instead. He played outfield for the Philadelphia Athletics (1939–1941) and the Cincinnati Reds (1942–1945). His best seasons in the majors were in 1943 and 1944, when he had 142 hits and batted .288 in '43, and had 144 hits and batted .301 in '44. Tipton then played in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball with the St. Paul Saints, 1946–1951, and the Portland Beavers, 1952, of the Pacific Coast League.

...
Wikipedia