Charlie Moir, 88, the winningest coach in Virginia Tech men’s basketball history, passed away Friday morning at his home in Salem.
Moir, who would have turned 89 in two weeks, won 213 games during his 11-year tenure with the Hokies. He had an overall career record of 213-119 for a .642 winning percentage. His 11 seasons at the helm of the Hokies marked the longest tenure of any men’s basketball coach in school history.
Wins and postseason tournaments were the norm during Moir’s career with the Hokies. His teams won 19 or more games in nine of his 11 seasons, and during one stretch he produced a school-record five consecutive 20-win seasons. Moir guided the Hokies to eight postseason tournament appearances – four in the NCAA Tournament and four in the NIT – the most ever by any Tech men’s coach.
Following a highly successful high-school coaching career in Virginia and North Carolina, Moir arrived at Virginia Tech in 1963. He served as an assistant basketball coach for one season under then-head coach Bill Matthews and three seasons under then-head coach Howie Shannon before leaving Blacksburg in 1967 to take a head coach’s job.
After successful head coaching stints at Roanoke College – where he guided the Maroons to the NCAA College Division Championship and earned Associated Press College Division Coach of the Year honors in 1972 – and Tulane University, Moir returned to Virginia Tech as the head basketball coach in 1976. In his first season at the helm, the Hokies posted a 19-10 record and advanced to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.
When Virginia Tech joined the Metro Conference in the spring of 1978, Moir’s 1978-79 Tech team responded by winning the conference tournament.. On Jan. 10, 1983, Moir and the Hokies spoiled the day for No. 1 Memphis State, knocking off the Tigers 69-56 in a sold out Cassell Coliseum.
In 1983-84, the Hokies advanced to the semifinals of the NIT, defeating Georgia Tech, South Alabama and Tennessee before losing to eventual champion Michigan by three points. The Hokies finished third in the tournament with a consolation game win over Southwestern Louisiana.
A native of Francisco, N.C., Moir was a 1951 graduate of Appalachian State, where he played both basketball and baseball. After graduation, he played three years in the Cincinnati Reds organization. He also earned a master’s degree in school administration from the University of Virginia.
Coaching ran in his family, as his older brother, Sam, won more than 500 games as the head coach at Catawba College, and his son, Page, who played for his father at Virginia Tech, won more than 300 games as the head coach at Roanoke College. He was the president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 2014-15.
Charlie Moir was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2006, joining some of his former players in the Hall. Current Hall-of-Fame members whom Moir recruited and coached include Dell Curry, Bimbo Coles, Duke Thorpe, Dale Solomon, Bobby Beecher and Wayne Robinson. Moir is also a member of the Roanoke College Hall of Fame and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
He and his late wife, Betsy, were married for 60 years prior to her death in 2014. He is survived by two sons, Bobby and Page, and granddaughters Anna and Sara.
