Glen Pettinger was only 16 when he matriculated at the University of Western Ontario on a basketball scholarship. He continued to play the sport as an amateur after his graduation and was selected for the Canadian basketball delegation to the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. There, Canada won all three of its matches in its qualification pool, but then lost its next three games and was eliminated from the tournament; Pettinger played in all six matches. He was also with the national team at the 1959 Pan American Games where Canada placed fifth. His career was in education, beginning as an English teacher, but eventually rising in the administrative ranks until he became a school principal. He was also active athletically in golf.