The Dalhousie Tigers - Dalhousie University

Sometimes mother knows best. That is certainly the opinion of Dalhousie with regards to Margie (Muir) Langley. While all of her friends were looking at Acadia, there was no choice in the Muir household – Margie was headed for Dalhousie.

When this Truro native arrived on campus, she was already a talented multi-sport athlete, who had a love for sport. Margie was instilled with this ‘love of the game’ attitude by her first physical education teacher in grade school, Toni Proyer, and her father Dr. James Alexander Muir, a former Dalhousie runner and winner of the Malcolm Honor and 15-year one mile record holder. They can be credited for helping develop her desire to be as good as she could be. The sense of accomplishment felt when she was first able to win a ping-pong game versus her father is one that never left her; she would strive for and realize this sense of accomplishment many times in her athletic pursuits.

Margie arrived at Dalhousie in 1964 at a time when female athletes were not recruited, but rather teams were comprised of walk-ons responding to advertisements in The Gazette and notices around campus. If you were interested, you showed up. Well, young Muir had never played field hockey, but with her love of sport she decided to give it a try. It took Margie just three short seasons of field hockey, a sport which she had previously never played, to earn team most valuable player honours in 1967. She was also selected to the eastern Canadian team roster to attend the national championship in Toronto in that same season. A stalwart defender in the field, she led the Dalhousie squad to undefeated seasons in 1965 and 1967, winning the conference championship.

On the basketball court was where Margie truly excelled. At the beginning of her basketball career at Dalhousie, the game was much different than the one played today. There were six players per side, including three guards and three forwards and in handling the ball each player was afforded only three dribbles. The result was a low scoring battle on the busy court but the rules certainly didn’t impede Margie’s scoring touch. As a forward, she was often listed as the team’s top scorer, leading the team in the 1965-66 season. A gifted athlete and scorer when she arrived at Dalhousie, Margie beefed up her point totals with the help of fellow 2006 Hall of Fame inductee and stellar coach, Al Yarr, who spent countless hours working with her on shooting technique, in her quest to excel. In 1967, after the first Canada Games, of which Margie attended as a member of Team Nova Scotia, the rules of the game changed to resemble very much the game of today. The changes suited Margie quite nicely, as evidenced by her selection as Dalhousie’s women’s basketball MVP for the 1967-68 season.

Margie’s involvement in sport at Dalhousie extended away from the playing surface as well. For three years she was part of the executive of the Dalhousie Girl’s Athletic Club (DGAC), serving as ‘freshette’ representative, treasurer and in her final year, as president. The DGAC organized the intercollegiate teams and activities as well as the intramural activities for the young women of Dalhousie.

Margie Muir is a consummate Dalhousian. From her beginnings as a standout two-sport varsity athlete to her role as President of the Black and Gold Club from 1990-92, a ten-year stint as a member of the Board of Directors for Dalhousie’s Alumni Association and sitting on the university’s Board of Directors from 1994-97,  Margie is a  tremendous example for Dalhousie students of today. Her involvement with the university speaks volumes on what Dalhousie University continues to mean for her. The depth of Margie’s sporting accomplishments at Dalhousie is illustrated by her selection as Dalhousie’s top female athlete for three consecutive years, an achievement that stood unmatched for 36 years, only recently being equaled in 2006.