Joseph Cameron Alston

Joseph C. Alston

Personal information
Born	Joseph Cameron Alston (1926-12-20)December 20, 1926 San Diego, California
Died	April 16, 2008(2008-04-16) (aged 81)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Badminton
Handedness	Right

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 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 (closed to foreign competition) and the U.S. Open Badminton Championships (open to foreign competition). He and long-time partner Wynn Rogers 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 with Malaya's Johnny Heah and remains the only American to share this title. Noted for his speed and crisp shotmaking, 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. Both are members of the U.S. Badminton Hall of Fame, now called the Walk of Fame. One of their sons, Tony Alston, was a leading U.S. player in the 1980s.

Achievements

International tournaments (8 titles, 11 runners-up)

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1954	U.S. Open	Eddy Choong	5–15, 15–2, 13–15	2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1955	U.S. Open	Eddy Choong	15–5, 15–8	1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1956	U.S. Open	Finn Kobberø	11–15, 8–15	2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1955	U.S. Open	Wynn Rogers	Eddy Choong T. Darryl Thompson	15–6, 12–15, 15–8	1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1957	All England Open	Heah Hock Aun	David Choong Eddy Choong	15–10, 16–17, 15–5	1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1959	U.S. Open	Wynn Rogers	Lim Say Hup Teh Kew San	5–15, 3–15	2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1960	Mexico International	Manuel Armendariz	Lim Say Hup Teh Kew San	7–15, 4–15	2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1961	U.S. Open	Wynn Rogers	Michael Hartgrove Alan Mahaffey	15–8, 15–9	1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1962	U.S. Open	Wynn Rogers	Ferry Sonneville Tan Joe Hok	15–12, 7–15, 15–6	1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1963	U.S. Open	Wynn Rogers	Erland Kops Robert McCoig	16–18, 2–15	2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1964	U.S. Open	Wynn Rogers	Michael Hartgrove Jim Poole	15–2, 12–15, 15–10	1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1967	U.S. Open	Erland Kops	Suresh Goel Jim Sydie	15–4, 15–4	1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1954	U.S. Open	Lois Alston	Wynn Rogers Loma Smith	15–10, 15–10	1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1955	U.S. Open	Lois Alston	Wynn Rogers Dorothy Hann	15–8, 11–15, 9–15	2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1959	U.S. Open	Lois Alston	Michael Roche Judy Devlin	9–15, 15–10, 15–17	2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1961	U.S. Open	Lois Alston	Wynn Rogers Judy Hashman	13–18, 2–15	2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1962	U.S. Open	Helen Tibbetts	Wynn Rogers Judy Hashman	4–15, 7–15	2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1963	U.S. Open	Lois Alston	Sangob Rattanusorn Margaret Barrand	16–18, 15–4, 12–15	2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
1964	U.S. Open	Lois Alston	Channarong Ratanaseangsuang Margaret Barrand	walkover	2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

Summary

Tournament	Event and year
US Open	Men's Singles (1955), Men's Doubles (1955, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1967), Mixed Doubles (1954)
US Championships	Men's Singles (1951), Men's Doubles (1951, 1952, 1953) Mixed Doubles (1953)
All-Englands	Men's Doubles (1957)
World Invitational	Men's Singles (1956)