Joseph Cameron Alston (December 20, 1926 – April 16, 2008) was an American badminton player who won major titles between 1951 and 1967.

Career

Despite a career in the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

which sometimes interfered with his avocation, Alston is the only male player to win each of the sport's three basic events, singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, at both the

U.S. National Badminton Championships The U.S. National Badminton Championships is a tournament organized by USA Badminton (originally the American Badminton Association) and held annually to crown the best badminton players in the United States. The tournament started in Chicago in 1 ...

(closed to foreign competition) and the

U.S. Open Badminton Championships The U.S. Open Badminton Championships is an annual badminton tournament first held in when the American Badminton Association (now USA Badminton) opened the U.S. National Badminton Championships to foreign competition. During the 1950s and 1960s ...

(open to foreign competition). He and long-time partner

Wynn Rogers Thomas Wynn Rogers (1919–1998) was an American badminton player who won numerous U.S. national titles from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. Career Primarily a doubles player, the tall, rangy Rogers swept all available doubles events (Men’s D ...

were ranked number one nationally in men's doubles for fourteen consecutive years (1951–1964). In 1957 Alston won the Men's Doubles at the prestigious

All-England Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...

with Malaya's Johnny Heah and remains the only American to share this title. Noted for his speed and crisp shot-making, Alston was a member of seven consecutive U.S. Thomas Cup (Men's International) teams between 1952 and 1970 and played in four inter-zone Thomas Cup campaigns He was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated on March 7, 1955. His wife, the former Lois Smedley, was an outstanding badminton competitor in her own right and played on the world champion U.S. Uber Cup (Women's International) team of 1957.USA Badminton Walk of Fame Plaza: THE LADIES' INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY
/ref> Both are members of the

U.S. Badminton Hall of Fame The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, now called the Walk of Fame. One of their sons, Tony Alston, was a leading U.S. player in the 1980s.

Major Achievements

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alston, Joseph Cameron American male badminton players 1926 births 2008 deaths San Diego High School alumni