Devlin, Judy (Mrs. Hashman)
Badminton
b. 1935, Winnipeg, MB
If badminton had ever won any standing with fans and media, Devlin would be accepted as one of the greatest female athletes in history. During a 15-year career, she won 56 national championships in the U. S., Canada, and England, and she also won the Dutch, German, Irish, Jamaican, Scottish, and Swedish titles at one time or another.
Devlin began playing when she was seven years old under the tutelage of her Irish-born father, J. Frank Devlin, who won the English singles championship six times. After winning six national junior girls titles, she moved into the senior ranks in 1953 and won the women's doubles championship with her sister, Susan.
In 1954, she won her first U. S. singles championship. She also won that title from 1956 through 1963 and from 1965 through 1967. Devlin won a record 10 All-England singles titles, in 1954, 1957, 1958, from 1960 through 1964, and in 1966 and 1967. (The All-England is badminton's equivalent of the Wimbledon tournament in tennis.)
She also won the national women's doubles 12 times, the national mixed doubles 8 times, the All-England women's doubles 7 times, the Canadian singles and women's doubles 3 times each, and the Canadian mixed doubles once.