Joseph Cameron Alston (December 20, 1926 – April 16, 2008) 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 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, ...
which sometimes interfered with his
avocation
An avocation is an activity that someone engages in as a hobby outside their main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside their workplaces w ...
, 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
The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the 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 ...
(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
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
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
The Uber Cup, sometimes called the World Women's Team Championships, is a major international badminton competition contested by women's national badminton teams. First held in 1956–1957 and contested at three year intervals, it has been contes ...
(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, now called the Walk of Fame.
Major Achievements
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alston, Joseph Cameron
American male badminton players
1926 births
2008 deaths
San Diego High School alumni