Eric Tipton

Bio

Many call it the greatest punting exhibition in football history. Coach Clark Shaughnessy listed it as one of the 12 greatest performances he had seen. On a windy and cold fall day in 1938, Duke's Eric Tipton literally kicked the starch out of a fine Pitt team. Shaughnessy, described it vividly, writing: "Tipton was a one-man show. The game was played on ice and snow at Durham, North Carolina; before a record crowd, and I doubt that anybody ever kicked a ball more skillfully or consistently than the grim, square-jawed Tipton that afternoon. Seven of his punts left Pitt within its own 10-yard line, while another seven stopped dead or went out of bounds inside the 20. Final score: Duke 7, Pitt 0." During Tipton's varsity days at Duke, the Blue Devils amassed 25 victories against only four defeats, winning the Southern Conference championship in 1936 and 1938. The 1938 team was called the "Iron Dukes," that club went through a nine game regular season schedule undefeated, untied and unscored-upon before losing 7-3 to Southern California in the Rose Bowl. After college, Eric played major league baseball for four seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and one with the Philadelphia Athletics. Tipton served on the football staff at William and Mary. Then he served as head baseball coach and assistant football coach at Army.

Career Highlights

• 1938 All-Conference
• 1938 First Team All-America