David Guthrie Freeman (6 September 1920 – 28 June 2001) was an American

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

who became an icon in the sport's history.

Early life

Freeman was born on September 6, 1920 in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

, the son of Robert Freeman, a Presbyterian minister, and Margery Fulton, professor of religion. In 1938 he graduated from Pasadena JC and in 1942 got his B.A. at Pomona College. He entered

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

in 1942 and completed its accelerated war-time curriculum in 1945.

Badminton career

During his teenage years Freeman demonstrated exceptional ability in tennis, table tennis, and, particularly, badminton. From early in 1939, at the age of eighteen, through his final tournament match fourteen years later, Freeman was undefeated in badminton singles competition. Displaying his characteristic quickness, agility, and shot-making precision, Freeman won the prestigious

All-England Championship The IPW:UK All-England Championship (formerly the FWA All-England Championship) was a professional wrestling championship which was originally contested for in Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA) and subsequently in International Pro Wrestling: Un ...

on his only try (1949) and remains the sole American to win the men's singles there. In this one-time-only badminton stint in Europe he also won Thomas Cup singles matches against eventual champion

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

, and captured the

Danish Open Danish Open may refer to: * Denmark Open a badminton tournament * Danish Open (golf) a defunct golf tournament * Danish Open (tennis) The Danish Open (sponsored as the e-Boks Open) was a professional women's tennis tournament played 2010–12 on in ...

. In all, he won three matches each against

Ooi Teik Hock Ooi Teik Hock (; born 13 November 1920 – 21 March 1983) was a male badminton player from Malaysia who won Malayan national titles and represented his country in team and individual competition between 1939 and 1958. Career Ooi played on fo ...

and the formidable

Wong Peng Soon Wong Peng Soon, (; 17 February 1917 – 22 May 1996) was a Malayan/Singaporean badminton player who reigned as a top player in Malaya from the 1930s to the 1950s when it was a single nation. Noted for his smooth but powerful strokes and gra ...

. After apparently retiring from badminton in 1950 to concentrate on a career in

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, Freeman made a brief comeback in 1953. He won the four tournaments that he entered which concluded with the U.S. National Championships in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, and a victory in the same hall where he had last lost a singles match fourteen years earlier. He is the only American born male to be inducted into both the U.S. and World Badminton Halls of Fame.

Personal life

Freeman married his wife Addie in 1942 and they had two sons (Rees and Dave) and a daughter (Diana Peterson).

Death

Freeman died on 28 June 2001, at San Diego Hospice. He was 80 and had Merkle cell carcinoma.

Major achievements in badminton

Tennis and other sports

Freeman's racket sport exploits were not limited to badminton. He won the U.S. Junior Tennis Championship in 1938, defeating

Welby Van Horn Sidney Welby Van Horn (September 8, 1920 - September 17, 2014) was an American professional tennis player and tennis coach. As a 19-year-old player, Van Horn reached the finals of the 1939 U.S. Champiomnships beating John Bromwich only to lo ...

in the final, and with

Bill Talbert William Franklin Talbert (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 1999) was an American tennis player and administrator. Tennis career He was ranked in the U.S. top 10 13 times between 1941 and 1954, and was ranked World No. 3 in 1949 by John Olliff ...

was the runner-up in U.S. men's doubles in 1943. Additionally he won the U.S. Army Tennis Championship in 1947; the New England Squash title in 1945; and a variety of table tennis tournaments.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (1 runner-up)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, David G. American male badminton players 1920 births 2001 deaths Pasadena City College alumni Harvard Medical School alumni American male tennis players Tennis people from California Pomona College alumni