David Guthrie Freeman

{{Infobox badminton player

| name = David G. Freeman

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| nickname = Pasadena Flash

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1920|9|6|df=y}}

| birth_place = Pasadena, California

| death_date = {{death date and age|2001|6|28|1920|9|6|df=y}}

| death_place = Rancho Santa Fe, California

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| country = United States

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| handedness = Right

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{{MedalCountry|{{USA}}}}

}}

David Guthrie Freeman (6 September 1920 – 28 June 2001) was an American badminton player from California who became an icon in the sport's history.{{cite web|first=Bob|last=Wolf|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-07-12-sp-3359-story.html%3f_amp=true|title=Badminton Was No Picnic for Dave Freeman : He Took the Sport Quite Seriously While He Was Winning One National Championship After Another|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101094205/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-07-12-sp-3359-story.html|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=12 July 1989|archive-date=1 November 2021|access-date=1 November 2021}}

Early life

Freeman was born on September 6, 1920, in Pasadena, 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.{{cite book|title=Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: 1992-1995 Supplement for Baseball, Football, Basketball, and Other Sports|date=1995|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Conn.|isbn=978-0313284311|pages=[https://archive.org/details/biographicaldict0000unse_z6m6/page/640 640–341]|editor=David L. Porter|url=https://archive.org/details/biographicaldict0000unse_z6m6/page/640}} He entered Harvard Medical School 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.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120305054905/http://usabadminton.org/walk-of-fame-inductees/dave-freeman USA Badminton Walk of Fame Plaza: Dave Freeman] Displaying his characteristic quickness, agility, and shot-making precision, Freeman won the prestigious All-England Championship on his only try (1949) and remains the sole American to win the men's singles there.[http://www.dillesport.dk/sportspc/AllEngland/allhs.uk.html Dillesport - All England] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206202045/http://www.dillesport.dk/sportspc/AllEngland/allhs.uk.html |date=2010-02-06 }} In this one-time-only badminton stint in Europe he also won Thomas Cup singles matches against eventual champion Malaya, and captured the Danish Open. In all, he won three matches each against Ooi Teik Hock and the formidable Wong Peng Soon.

After apparently retiring from badminton in 1950 to concentrate on a career in neurosurgery, 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, and a victory in the same hall where he had last lost a singles match fourteen years earlier.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ocbadmintonclub.com/usnationals2006/2006usn-pw.shtml |title=Orange County Badminton Club: 2006 USA Nationals - Past champions |access-date=2007-11-26 |archive-date=2016-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422092042/http://www.ocbadmintonclub.com/usnationals2006/2006usn-pw.shtml |url-status=dead }} He is the only American born male to be inducted into both the U.S. and World Badminton Halls of Fame.[http://www.bwfbadminton.org/file_download.aspx?id=22551 Badminton Hall of Fame]{{cite web|title=Dave Freeman, a Champion In Badminton, Is Dead at 80|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/28/sports/dave-freeman-a-champion-in-badminton-is-dead-at-80.html|work=The New York Times|author=Frank Listky|date=July 28, 2001}}

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

class="wikitable"
Tournament ! Event ! Year
rowspan=3\| U.S. Championships \| Men's Singles \| 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1947, 1948, 1953
Men's Doubles \| 1940, 1941, 1942, 1947, 1948
Mixed Doubles \| 1940, 1941, 1942
All-England Championships \| Men's Singles \| 1949
Danish Open \| Men's Singles \| 1949
Toronto Invitational \| Men's Singles \| 1953

class="wikitable"

Tournament

! Event

! Year

rowspan=3| U.S. Championships

| Men's Singles

| 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1947, 1948, 1953

Men's Doubles

| 1940, 1941, 1942, 1947, 1948

Mixed Doubles

| 1940, 1941, 1942

All-England Championships

| Men's Singles

| 1949

Danish Open

| Men's Singles

| 1949

Toronto Invitational

| Men's Singles

| 1953

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 was the runner-up in U.S. men's doubles in 1943.{{Cite web |url=http://hickoksports.com/biograph/freemandavid.shtml |title=Hickok Sports: Freeman, David G. |access-date=2007-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102001201/http://www.hickoksports.com/biograph/freemandavid.shtml |archive-date=2008-01-02 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|title=Segura Upset, Courageous Kramer Battles Joe Hunt In Finals Of National|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LQUtAAAAIBAJ&pg=2214%2C1207434|newspaper=The Miami News|date=Sep 6, 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.