Norm Gloag’s enthusiasm for basketball started long before his career as a builder. He played intermediate, Senior B, and Senior A basketball between 1932 and 1948, excluding the war years of 1942-45. In 1947-48, while playing with the Vancouver Clover Leafs, Gloag toured the Philippines for five weeks and then came home to win the Canadian national championship.

Gloag held the position of chairman of the Vancouver Basketball Commission from 1951-75. He served as manager of the Canadian Olympic men’s basketball team at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne and from 1956-80 was the basketball representative at all six Olympic Games, excluding 1980 when Canada boycotted the Olympic games.

Gloag served as Canadian representative at the world basketball championships in Santiago, Chile, and also the International Amateur Basketball Federation (IFBA). He worked as manager of the Canadian basketball team at the 1962 world championships in Manila, Philippines.

His executive positions over the years include president of the Canadian Basketball Association, member of the Pan American Games committee, director of the Canadian Olympic Association and member of the board of the Vancouver YMCA.

In 1975, Gloag was elected “Canadian Amateur Sports Executive of the Year.”