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

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

player from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

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, United States, 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 d ...

, 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 Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

. He entered

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

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 The Thomas Cup, sometimes referred as World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships h ...

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. 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 f ...

and the formidable

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

. 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 is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 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 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 from 1941 to 1954, and he was ranked World No. 3 in 1949 by John Olliff of ''The D ...

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 players from California Pomona College alumni 20th-century American sportsmen