Noel MacDonald


Noel Marguerite Robertson 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 was inducted into the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1971 and Canada Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978.

Early life and education

On 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. After graduating from Victoria High School, MacDonald studied business at McDougall Commercial High School.

Career

MacDonald started her basketball career with the Edmonton Gradettes in 1931 before joining the Edmonton Grads in 1933. On the Grads, she played as a forward and centre before being promoted to captain in 1936. 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. After her retirement, MacDonald became a basketball coach in Estevan, Saskatchewan and a secretary in Libya.

Awards and achievements

In 1938, MacDonald won the Velma Springstead Trophy for best female athlete of Canada. 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. In 1944, she was named by her former coach Percy Page as the best player in the history of the Edmonton Grads.
MacDonald has been inducted in the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978.

Personal life

In 1939, MacDonald married Harry Robertson, a former hockey player turned oil businessman and had two children together.

Death

On May 13, 2008, MacDonald died from Alzheimer's disease in Edmonton, Alberta.