2008 Dalhousie Sport Hall of Fame Class

In 2008, Dalhousie inducted three athletes, one builder and one team as part of it's third Hall of Fame class.

Barb (Clancy) Drover, Andrew MacKay, and Lucy Smith were all inducted as athletes. Tom Lynch was inducted as a builder and the 1978-79 Men's Hockey team was inducted as a team.

Barb Clancy Drover, Athlete: Badminton, Field hockey & Volleyball

The committee making the selection for the inaugural Class of ’55 Award for the best female athlete at Dalhousie set the bar high. The award was established to be presented to the Dalhousie female student who best embodied the qualities of athletic ability, fair play and team spirit. Barb Clancy was just the talented multi-sport athlete and student the committee was looking for. Barb excelled in all aspects of her experience at Dalhousie; she was the perfect choice.

Arriving at Dalhousie in 1952, Barb was anxious to get involved in sport. She was immediately selected as the Freshette representative on the Dalhousie Girl’s Athletic Club.  This campus involvement in the administration of women’s sport continued for Barb throughout her time at Dal. She eventually became the Secretary Treasure in 1953-54 and President in 1954-55.

A real “doer” in her time at Dal, Barb also served as the secretary of her class in 1953 and was the 1954-55 Pharmacy Society Representative in the annual Munro Day Campus Queen contest.

In her first year at Dalhousie, Barb was involved with badminton, playing as part of the doubles team that represented the university at the provincial championship.

Her first athletic love however, was basketball. She was named to the varsity women’s basketball team and played an important role in the teams’ offence. She was noted several times in Gazette game reports for playing a solid role in the Tigers’ game. That year the team defeated Acadia 59-33 and 66-38 for the Nova Scotia Intermediate Senior Ladies Basketball Title. The team went on to win game one versus UNB of a two-game total point series for the Maritime Championship, 47-27.

In 1953 Barb’s athletic interests expanded to include field hockey. This was another area for sporting success as Barb was part of a talented team that went undefeated through the season including the playoffs to claim the intercollegiate championship for the third consecutive year.

As fall turned to winter, Barb returned to the hardwood and started with a bang as she scored a game high 12 points in a 43-19 win to open the season. The team played a solid season racking up wins over UNB, Acadia and Mount Allison on route to a second consecutive intercollegiate championship.

The 1954-55 year got off to a great start. Barb was an instrumental part of the field hockey team’s success. She scored many important goals that year, perhaps none more important than the two she scored to win the Nova Scotia Championship. In the two-game Maritime Championship series, the Tigers came up a bit short. Barb scored an important goal in game one to tie (2-2), but the team was unable to score in game two and lost 1-0 to Mount Allison.

This year also marked the introduction of women’s volleyball at Dalhousie. Despite her lack of experience with the game, Barb thought she would try her hand at that sport as well. With a solid group of athletes and a competitive spirit, the team earned a second place finish at the Maritime Championship.

The basketball team was once again winning in 1954-55 also. Barb, as usual, was the leader and a scoring threat in all the games. She earned nearly half the points (23) in a city league game to defeat the powerhouse Tartans, 51-36.

Barb had some heart-stopping moments through her sports career at Dal. She dramatically hit the desperation shot on February 10, 1955 to put the Tigers over the top against Mount Allison, 34-32. In the City Title championship game Barb scored 14 of Dalhousie’s 28 points in a 28-22 victory and contributed 13 points in the 36-21 Maritime championship game victory. This would mark the third year in a row the Tigers were MIAU Champions.

Prior to this year, the Marjorie Award was the only award available for overall women’s performance in athletics. This award however also had requirements outside of the field of play and did not recognize athletic performance to the same degree as the Climo Award did for the men of Dalhousie. With the inaugural presentation of the Class of ’55 Award to Barb Clancy, Dalhousie women had an athletic award on par in terms of prestige and recognition for athletic achievement with that of the men. A more fitting person could not have been selected; Barb’s presence on the roster seemed to indicate that the team was a winner, or at the very least, a favourite to win.

An excellent example of the kind of person that Dalhousie produces, it is only fitting that Barb Clancy become part of the Dalhousie Sport Hall of Fame.

Andrew MacKay, Athlete: Basketball & Football

Of the Honourable W. Andrew (Andy) MacKay it was said, “Truly a gentleman, a great athlete and a brilliant student.”Andy, as his classmates knew him during his studies at Dalhousie, embodied the qualities that best represent that perfect balance of academic achievement, sport acumen and extracurricular involvement.

Andy entered Dalhousie in the fall of 1947. As the son of Professor MacKay, a former member of the Dalhousie faculty, Andy was no stranger to the University and embraced campus life right away. He gained immediate popularity and was promptly elected Frosh President. If he wasn’t busy enough balancing academic life with sports and extracurricular activities, he still had time to work for The Gazette as the sports editor in his early years at Dal. Andy gave much to his alma mater through his work on the student council, the Dalhousie Amateur Athletic Club (DAAC) and his participation in athletics. He played five years with both the football and basketball varsity teams, was voted MVP of the football league and was a Climo Award winner as Dal’s top male athlete.

Andy was passionate about two sports during his time at Dalhousie - football and basketball. In both sports he was able to excel. He was a member of Dal’s junior basketball team when they won the Maritime Junior Championship and as quarterback for the newly formed football team, he helped bring the coveted Purdy’s Cup for the conference championship to Dal for the first time.

Football

Andy quarterbacked and played defence with the football team from 1948-52 and also served as team captain. He joined the varsity football team in only their second season of competition, one year after the team became part of the Canadian Football League.  At that time, most team members had just one or two years of football experience under their belt.

The biggest game of the season in 1948 was between Dalhousie and the Stadacona Navy. The Dalhousie backfield made up of Andy MacKay and Paul Lee was called the fastest in the league. Expecting the greatest turn out of fans yet for a football event, with 1000 tickets available for Dal students alone, The Gazette called it the, “greatest game of Canadian football ever played east of Montreal.” Dalhousie won the contest 15-12.

Team practices bring back fond memories for Andy. “In those days Wickwire Field didn’t exist and Studley was just under construction. We practiced on what is now the chemistry building. There were no lights, so we played in the dark if we had to.”

The Tigers opened the 1951 season with a win over defending champions, the Wanderers. The win was termed an upset but it was obvious that the Tigers were off on the right foot. With each game and each succeeding win, football fever at Dalhousie soared.

The excitement on campus was palpable; The Gazette reported on the practice conditions the team had to endure, “The swirling snow and blustery gales of winter swept the field as the Dal football Tigers completed their final week of practice prior to the big game at Studley this Saturday.”

It took five years, but in the fall of 1951 in the final game against Shearwater, the Tigers “brought home the bacon” winning the Purdy Cup, the symbol of Halifax Canadian Football supremacy. 

Basketball

Andy also excelled in basketball, starting with the junior team and then with the varsity team from 1947-52. His first big win in basketball was as a member of the junior team in 1948 when Dalhousie won the City League Championship and went on to the Maritime Junior Basketball Championship. MacKay was playing his usual standout, defensive style of play and led the team to the championship win over Saint John. The Maritime title earned the team a spot in the Canadian championship in Montreal, a remarkable feat for a young Dal team.

Andy was named co-captain of the varsity basketball team in 1949, holding the team together as a consistent, strong leader and talented player.  He was also named the 1948-49 Climo Award recipient as the Dalhousie male athlete who best combined athletic ability, clean sportsmanship and team spirit. At this point, he had two years of varsity basketball and one year of Canadian university football under his belt. Showcasing his general popularity among the student population, Andy was also crowned the new Campus King during Munro Days!

Andy was an unstoppable force on and off the football field and basketball courts.  His involvement also encompassed many other areas of school life.

He devoted a great deal of time to the Dalhousie Amateur Athletics Club, serving as a board member for two years and president for one. He was president of the freshman year class (1947), Chairman of Initiation (1948), a member of Student Council (1949-51), Munroe Day Chairman (1949), a member of the debating team (1952), President of the Arts and Science Society (1949) and served as a Member-at-Large on the student council (1951-52).

Upon graduating with a law degree in 1953, Andy MacKay went on to hold various positions including Professor and Dean of the Dalhousie Law School, Vice-President, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University.

Interestingly, it was during his term as President of the University from 1980-86 that the construction and opening of the new Memorial Arena took place.

The Honourable W. Andrew MacKay is a former judge of the Federal Court of Canada and a distinguished jurist. He was admitted to the Bar of Nova Scotia in 1954 and appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1972. From 1967-86, he was Chair of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission and was the Ombudsman for Nova Scotia from 1986-88.

MacKay was appointed Judge of the Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division, ex-officio member of the Court of Appeal and Judge of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada in 1988. After retiring as a judge in 2004, MacKay served as Deputy Judge of the Federal Court from 2004-07.

For all these reasons, we are here today to induct the Honourable W. Andrew MacKay into the Dalhousie Sport Hall of Fame.

Lucy Smith, Athlete: Cross Country & Track and Field

Lucy Smith - “talented”, “driven”, “a champion”.  These are the words used to describe Lucy during her time at Dalhousie.  Starring as a cross country and track and field runner during her university years, she has gone on to travel the world competing on national teams, winning medal after medal and race after race.

Lucy is a two-time winner of the Class of ’55 Award for Dalhousie’s top female athlete.  She won numerous races during her time at Dal, two national university championships, two national open cross country championships as well as numerous awards and medals.  Lucy was, and remains to this day, a top performer and a decorated athlete who pushed personal barriers and eventually broke records of others and her own. 

Lucy began running at age eleven.  Her family had a long tradition of endurance type sporting activities from cycling to cross country skiing.  She arrived at Dalhousie already a dedicated athlete having participated in every sport she was exposed to from soccer through to sailing.

It was at Dalhousie that she began to focus her efforts in the area of cross country and track and field. While at Dalhousie, Lucy combined her endurance talents and competitive drive and chose distance running as the perfect outlet. Her specialty was a combination of cross country racing (her first love during her time at Dalhousie) and the 1500m, 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m in track and field.

In 1986, Lucy’s first season running cross country for the Tigers, she revealed her special talents and gift. She was virtually unknown nationally when she first entered Dalhousie but that quickly changed as she began competing and winning every race she entered. 

According to Al Yarr, her former coach while at Dalhousie, “Lucy’s first year competing she placed fourth in her first race. By the end of the year she was fourth in the country.”

The Tigers finished off the 1986-87 season with the AUAA Cross Country Championship held at Dal. The women, led by Annick de Gooyer and Lucy Smith captured the team gold medal.  Lucy’s performance that year was enough to win her Dalhousie’s Rookie of the Year Award for 1986-87.

In the winter of 1987, the Dal women’s track and field team posted a great season, winning the AUAA title with victories in nine of 13 events. Smith led the team to win two medals at the CIAU finals.

By the time the fall of 1987 had arrived, Lucy was really hitting her stride.  The women’s cross country team claimed the AUAA title, and had won all three AUAA regular season meets.  The 1987-88 track and field Tigers faired just as well, taking home the championship title in March of 1988. Individually Lucy was a double winner, capturing both the 1500m and 3000m titles and earning athlete of the meet honours.

On March 24, 1988 Lucy ran her way to a silver medal in the 3000m at the CIAU Track and Field Championship at the University of Manitoba and earned herself an all-Canadian selection.  Her finish, which was a personal best, was six seconds under the AUAA record.  Lucy also ran the fastest leg in the 4x800 metre relay, leading the Tigers to a fifth place finish in the event.

The 1988-89 season would prove to be a banner year for Lucy in both cross country and track.  She won every race she entered, winning by large margins. In early October she broke her own personal record by 24 seconds at an AUAA cross country meet in Point Pleasant Park.  She raced with record breaking time, finishing a 5k course in 19 minutes and 26 seconds.  This would also be the year that Lucy would win the national open cross country championship for the first time.  She repeated that feat the following year. “She went to the Opens a relative unknown but when she left everyone knew her name,” said Al Yarr.  “Rarely do university students win opens; if you are winning opens, you are competing against Olympic champions.”

It was said that the 1988-89 Tigers’ women’s cross country team was one of the all-time best teams at Dalhousie in any sport.  They won every AUAA meet and recorded a score of 16 at the AUAA Championship, with Lucy Smith first, just one point shy of a perfect race score of 15. This result established an AUAA record.

At the annual black and gold banquet in 1989, Lucy won the Class of ’55 Award for Dalhousie’s female athlete of the year, an award she would take home the next year as well. At this point she had already been awarded Dal’s Female Rookie of the Year, won all three AUAA cross country meets that season, performed courageously at the CIAU cross country championship despite an illness, only missing repeating as all-Canadian by one place.  For her track and field efforts that season she was named AUAA Athlete of the Meet at the conference finals and had been ranked first for most of the indoor season.

For her top performance, 1990 saw Lucy winning the Class of ’55 for the second time as female athlete of the year. She also was awarded Nova Scotia’s Female Athlete of the Year that same year. 

For Lucy, training never stopped. She trained all summer, twice a day, every day. Some days she may have started by training in the pool in the morning and run in Point Pleasant Park in the afternoon but she rarely, if ever, missed a day.  Al Yarr says of Lucy, “she was one of those runners - she taught the coach more than I could teach her.”

Dalhousie was only the beginning of Lucy’s career as an athlete.  Today Lucy is a professional athlete, coach, speaker, wife of Lance Watson and mother of two (Maia and Ross).  For over twenty years Lucy has been one of Canada’s most successful endurance athletes with unparalleled results over a wide range of distances and disciplines. 

Of her life in sport Lucy herself says, “After twenty years in sport I have a pretty good understanding of what physiological markers I need to reach in training in order to achieve certain goals in competition.  I have never yet tired of the relentless pursuit of the perfect race, nor of the simply act of putting on my shoes and going for a run in the woods.”

Lucy’s achievements continue to amaze and inspire. Her great contribution to Dalhousie in the cross country and track and field is why we honour Lucy Smith today with her induction into the Dalhousie Sport Hall of Fame.

Tom Lynch, Builder: Administration

Tom Lynch is being honoured today because of his major contributions to sport and athletic life at Dalhousie University. He has worked tirelessly to advance athlete recruitment, fundraising and sport administration efforts at Dalhousie.

Tom has been an important player in helping to shape the structure of Dalhousie’s athletic student services fees and has been continuously involved in directing fundraising and recruitment efforts for high performing student-athletes.

In the late 1970’s, as a member of the Tiger Club, the predecessor to the current Black and Gold, he devoted much time and energy to the betterment of athletics at Dalhousie. As a founding member and former President of the Dalhousie Black and Gold Club, Tom helped establish this organization whose focus is to provide support for student athletes with financial awards, tutorial programs and sponsoring the annual athletic banquet.

These tools have become an increasingly necessary means to recruit student-athletes in an exceptionally competitive market. Thanks to Tom, the Black and Gold Club has been providing assistance to student-athletes at Dalhousie University for over twenty years.

One of the most exclusive, highly successful fundraisers and arguably the best annual event organized by the University is the annual Dal Golf Classic. As a founding committee member of this event, Tom was instrumental in getting the Dal Golf Classic off the ground and influential in securing the Risley home in Chester to host the inaugural reception. This ended up being the key to a hugely successful golf tournament. It sold out, at a premium price and has continued to attract participation from important alumni, partners and friends of Dalhousie, all in an effort to raise funds for student-athletes.

One of Tom’s greatest administrative accomplishments was the introduction of student athletic fees as part of tuition. These fees were initially added to enhance the student experience at Dalhousie, but have since evolved into also providing necessary support for varsity athletics, including greater recruiting and team travel funding. 

Along with his focus on the Tigers’ programs, he was also a strong believer in a balanced approach to student athletics. Giving all Dalhousie students, not just the varsity athletes, access to better facilities, quality fitness equipment, free fitness classes, as well as more support for intramurals and clubs was important to him. With the implementation of the new fee structure students also received free entrance to regular varsity competitions. 

Tom played an integral role in advancing many initiatives at Dalhousie. He helped create a very positive relationship with student organizations including the Dalhousie Student’s Union, student residences and various sport and recreation-related groups.

Tom placed a great deal of emphasis on student input in decisions of the Advisory Committee and all major decisions which affected their time at Dalhousie. He was a strong promoter of the establishment of an athlete’s council and other student representative organizations to ensure that the student voice was heard.

Up until 1995, the home of the soccer Tigers, Studley Field, became nearly unusable each year as the fall weather wreaked havoc on field conditions. Affectionately known as “Mudley Field”, Tom understood the dire need to improve this facility for the safety of Dalhousie students and Tiger athletes, as well as a necessity in the recruitment of future rising soccer stars. Tom worked closely with Ted Wickwire advocating for the replacement of Studley Field  and with Ted’s untimely death , Tom continued as a tireless force behind the building of the appropriately named , Wickwire Field - the largest artificial turf facility in the country at the time.

An area that was personally close to Tom’s heart was the recruitment of talented athletes for all Dalhousie varsity teams. He made tremendous contributions to coaches of all sports in the recruitment of key athletes, often at his own expense.  He enjoyed entertaining parents and athletes, taking visiting coaches and athletes out on the town, and travelling to events and various locales to visit potential recruits and their parents.  He spent many hours on the phone making a significant number of calls to well positioned and connected Dal alumni across the country with a goal of engaging them in the recruitment process. Tom has been one of the greatest ambassadors and promoters of Dalhousie Athletics and his success rate in winning over top recruits and their parents is extremely high.

Tom was also active in assisting coaches in the creation of tournaments such as the Rod Shoveller Memorial Men’s Basketball Tournament and the Centennial Women’s Basketball Tournament. These events serve not only as great competition for Dalhousie’s teams and fans, but also as significant fundraisers for the various programs.

Contributions to sport do not take place only on the field, rinks, or gymnasiums. It is because of people like Tom Lynch, who work so diligently to shape and support the direction that sport has taken at Dalhousie that has earned him a place in the Dalhousie Sport Hall of Fame.

1978-79 Men's Hockey Team

It was an exhilarating year for hockey at Dalhousie in 1978-79. With headlines that read, “Tigers Maul Axemen on Ice,” “Tigers Knock X out of Playoff Picture” and “Tigers Trounce Huskies,” everyone knew it was going to be a great season.

Thirty years ago, this fall, the men’s hockey team came together to eventually win, for the first time in 52 years, the Halifax Herald Ltd. Trophy as Atlantic University Hockey Conference (AUHC) champions. 

From there, they went on to successfully win two of three games played, placing second and winning silver, at the Interuniversity Athletic Union Championships (IAUC).  This was an historical first and only nationally televised hockey game featuring a Dalhousie hockey team.

The varsity hockey team took to the ice September 30, 1978 at Scotia Stadium. Coach Pierre Pagé was elated with the calibre of players. They practiced at Scotia stadium initially but made the Halifax Forum their permanent practice arena.  At the time they didn’t even have a rink to call their own as the Dalhousie rink had burned to the ground in the spring of that year.

The season started with team members skating hard in a rigorous training program. Coach Pagé had the players working on specific programs over the summer and it seemed to have paid off.

The fall season was shaping up to be a good one. The Tigers had their most impressive start in years with double victories over Saint Mary’s and 15-3 and 10-0 routs of Concordia and Trois Riviéres respectively.

By November Coach Pagé had a sense of the calibre of his team and was already hinting at the idea that the winner of the league would definitely have a good chance at the college title.

By the time the last game of the AUAA regular season was being played the team was in top form.  The Tigers faced off against the X-men in what was a “tooth and claw affair” and was being billed as the game of the season. 

AUHC Championship - Halifax

Finally, the time had arrived, and there was no lack of excitement over the show down between the Dalhousie Tigers and the Saint Mary’s Huskies. The first game between the two rivals was scheduled for Wednesday, March 7. It was a nail biter for over 3500 fans, with the Huskies winning the opener 3-2 in overtime.  It was time for the Tigers to regroup and they came back that Saturday, with a growing fan base of 5000, to rebound and win 6-3.By the time Sunday’s game arrived the excitement had reached immeasurable heights. With over 6000 students screaming, “we’re number one”, the Tigers brought the championship home with a 6-4 victory, solidified in a 10-minute overtime period.

This was the first time in 52 years a Dalhousie hockey team had won the AUHC and the Halifax Herald Ltd. Trophy.  According to reporter Chuck Percy, “The three-game series was one of the most exciting and potentially heart stopping sporting event I have ever witnessed. It was just too close for words.”

Although the names Bob Dugan, Earl Jessiman, Paul MacLean and Earl Theriault were often mentioned throughout the season, it is generally noted that this team worked hard as team, played hard as a team and won as a team. The team had chemistry that went far beyond individual talent.

CIAU Championship - Montreal

After securing the title as the best team in Atlantic Canada, the Tigers travelled to Montreal to set out to compete in the national championship. The Tigers squad was pleased with the draw for the single knockout tournament. Winning their first two games would guarantee them a spot in the championship game, televised live on national television.

The national tournament opened on March 15, 1979 with Dalhousie facing the Guelph University Gryphons. The game was reported as a seesaw affair and by the third period, the score stood tied at 5-5 and overtime loomed. But, with just thirty four seconds left in the game, Earl Theriault poked the puck past Guelph’s goaltender to break the tie and take the Dalhousie Tigers over their first hurdle with the win.

The Tigers were slated to meet the Chicoutimi Les Uniks that Saturday night.  The Tigers came to win and Dal erupted on the ice, winning this game 7-3.

There were 150 Dalhousie fans bused to Montreal to cheer on the Tigers and according to Coach Pagé, “they never let us down”. For fans that night at the Pointe Claire Arena, the win was certainly something to celebrate.  Dalhousie secured a spot in the national final against the University of Alberta Golden Bears, solid team who had easily claimed the western conference title.

The final game was televised on the national CBC network and although the game ended with a 5-1 Alberta win, those who were there and watching from home were proud to have seen the Tigers come this far.  It was Bob Dugan who scored Dal’s goal two and half minutes into the second period and Dalhousie fans, “impressed the other teams by being the loudest and most long-winded in the rink, ”  according to reports.

Two interesting and noteworthy hockey careers evolved after this season ended. Paul MacLean went on to play forward in the NHL and had a career their spanning 11 years.  He is currently assistant coach with the 2008 Stanley Cup champions, Detroit Red Wings. He is also the first former Tiger to earn a spot on a Stanley Cup.

Pierre Pagé moved on to coach in the NHL, coached the Minnesota North Stars, Quebec Nordiques, Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. He is currently head coach of the EC Red Bull’s Salzburg.

For their incredible talent, for their many firsts and for their phenomenal team spirit, we are inducting the 1978-79 men’s hockey team into the Dalhousie Sport Hall of Fame.