Noel Marguerite Robertson (née MacDonald; January 23, 1915 – May 13, 2008) was a basketball player for the Edmonton Grads. In 1938, MacDonald was awarded the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award and Velma Springstead Trophy as the best Canadian female athlete of the year. She is one of the few people who have been inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame twice, and was also inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978.
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 January 1915 Mortlach, Saskatchewan |
| Died | 13 May 2008 (aged 93) Edmonton, Alberta |
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 1931–1939 |
| Position | Captain |
| Career history | |
| 1931-33 | Edmonton Gradettes |
| 1933-39 | Edmonton Grads |
| Career statistics | |
| Points per game | 13.8 |
| Points | 1,874 |
Early life and education
editOn January 23, 1915, Noel MacDonald was born in Mortlach, Saskatchewan. She went to school in Moose Jaw before moving with her family to Edmonton, Alberta for high school.[1] After graduating from Victoria Composite High School, MacDonald studied business at McDougall Commercial High School.[2]
Career
editMacDonald started her basketball career with the Edmonton Gradettes in 1931 before joining the Edmonton Grads in 1933.[2] On the Grads, she played as a forward and centre before being promoted to captain in 1936.[3] After her promotion to captain, MacDonald and her teammates won a demonstration basketball tournament at the 1936 Summer Olympics. MacDonald retired from the Grads in 1939 with a points per game average of 13.8 and an all-time Grads best of 1,874 points.[4] After her retirement, MacDonald became a basketball coach in Estevan, Saskatchewan and a secretary in Libya.[5]
Awards and achievements
editIn 1938, MacDonald won the Velma Springstead Trophy for best female athlete of Canada.[5] When MacDonald won the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award the same year, she became the first and only woman to receive the award for women's basketball.[6] In 1944, she was named by her former coach Percy Page as the best player in the history of the Edmonton Grads.[7]
MacDonald was inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978.[8] She is one of only ten people who have been inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame twice. She was first awarded the Order of Sport (marking induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame) in 1971, and again as a member of the Edmonton Grads in 2017.[9]
Personal life
editIn 1939, with 17 games left in her final season MacDonald eloped with Harry Robertson, a former Canadian National hockey player turned oil businessman (in Idaho) keeping their marriage secret for the remainder of the season as married women were not allowed to play on the team. They had two children together. Son Donald, and daughter Dale Larsen, with three grandchildren. Jordan Robertson, Damion Larsen and Kalia Larsen Edmunds.[5]
Death
editOn May 13, 2008, MacDonald died from Alzheimer's disease in Edmonton, Alberta.[10]
References
edit- ^ Mlazgar, Brian; Stoffel, Holden, eds. (2007). Saskatchewan Sports: Lives Past and Present. University of Regina Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0889771673. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- ^ a b Hall 2011, p. 207.
- ^ Hall, M. Ann (2011). The Grads Are Playing Tonight!: The Story of the Edmonton Commercial Graduates Basketball Club. University of Alberta. pp. 207–08. ISBN 978-0888646026.
- ^ Gerein, Keith (15 May 2008). "Edmonton Grad was an icon in her day". Edmonton Journal. p. C2. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
- ^ a b c Chaput, John (20 May 2008). "MacDonald was at top of Grads' class". Edmonton Journal. pp. B1–B2. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
- ^ Daly, Brian I. (2013). Canada's Other Game: Basketball from Naismith to Nash. Dundurn Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-1459706347. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
- ^ Moher, Stan (11 April 1944). "Noel MacDonald Named as Greatest All-Time Grad". Edmonton Journal. p. 7. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
- ^ "Hall of Fame". basketball.ca. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- ^ "Canada Sports Hall of Fame | Hall of Famers Search". www.sportshall.ca. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ "Obituaries". Arizona Republic. 18 May 2008. p. 36. Retrieved 11 August 2017.