Career
Born in Hurstville, New South Wales, Norm Tipping"s early football was rugby union played with the Saint George Rugby Union Club. His first grade rugby league career was often curtailed by serious injury, although he did complete five seasons with the Street George club between 1932-1933, 1936, and 1943-1944. In 1936 he suffered a near career ending spinal injury while playing in an end of season tour match and was in plaster for months.
Incredibly, after seven seasons in retirement he returned to first grade football in 1943 and finally retired at the end of the 1944 season.
He then went into coaching in the Street George Dragons lower grades before being offered the head coaching job in 1953. The club made the Grand Final that season but lost the game to the South Sydney Rabbitohs 31-12.
Even though he was now a Grand Final winning coach, Norm Tipping was again dropped as coach in 1957 due to inter-club politics. He accepted the coaching role of Saint George"s under 21 team for the next decade and never coached first grade again.
Norm Tipping died on 10 March 2002 at his Cronulla, New South Wales home, aged 89.
