George Glamack was exceptional for becoming a talented athlete despite having a significant handicap. He sustained an eye injury while playing football as a youth. This resulted in farsightedness that actually prevented him from seeing the basketball goal at close range. Nevertheless he developed his game skillfully so that he led all scorers by the time he was a senior in high school in Allentown, Pennsylvania. At the University of North Carolina Glamack was an All America in both his junior and senior seasons, 1940 and 1941. He captured the Helms Athletic Award as a senior. The honor recognized him as the outstanding basketball player among all colleges in the United States. After a stint with the College All Stars in 1941, Glamack entered the U.S. Navy. He joined the Rochester Royals of the NBL soon after his discharge in November 1946.