Judy Devlin

Judy Devlin
Personal information
Country	United States England
Born	(1935-10-22)22 October 1935 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Died	6 May 2024(2024-05-06) (aged 88) Oxford, England
Medal record Women's badminton Representing  United States Uber Cup 1957 Lancashire Women's team 1960 Philadelphia Women's team 1963 Wilmington Women's team 1966 Wellington Women's team Representing  England European Championships 1972 Karlskrona Women's doubles 1972 Karlskrona Mixed team

Judy Devlin (later Hashman, 22 October 1935 – 6 May 2024) was an English and American badminton player who won more major international titles than any other player of her era.

Devlin began playing badminton with her Irish-born father Frank Devlin when she was seven in the Baltimore, Maryland region of the U.S.A. where her family had settled. Under her father's tutelage she developed a badminton game notable for its power, accuracy, and consistency. After dominating U.S. junior competition she won her first (adult) U.S. championship event, women's doubles, with her older sister Susan Devlin in 1953. This marked the beginning of the run of success listed below. She married Dick Hashman in 1960, living in England thereafter and eventually becoming a British citizen 10 years later.^[1]

Competing before the establishment of an official world championships for individual players and before badminton's entry into the Olympic Games, Devlin won 86 national and international titles. Among these are 31 titles in the USA, 8 titles in Germany, 7 titles in Canada, 4 titles in the Netherlands, 4 titles in Sweden, 3 titles in Ireland, 3 titles in Jamaica, 2 titles in Scotland, and a combined 19 titles in All England Open and English National competition. She played on U.S. Uber Cup teams that won three successive world championships (1957, 1960, 1963). In 1972 she won 2 titles (team and women's doubles) at the European Badminton Championships. She retired in 1973.

From 1954 to 1967 Devlin dominated the women's singles event at the U.S. Open, winning 12 titles in 14 years, including 8 consecutive championships from 1956 to 1963.

Judy Devlin is the most successful female player ever in the All England Badminton Championships, with 17 titles, 10 of them in women's singles and 7 in women's doubles.

Devlin appeared as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 21 March 1970,^[2] and was inducted into the Badminton Hall of Fame in 1997, together with her father. She was also inducted into the U. S. Badminton Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.

Devlin died from cancer in Oxford on 6 May 2024, at the age of 88.^[3][4][5]

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1972	Karlskrona, Sweden	Gillian Gilks	Margaret Beck Julie Rickard	15–11, 15–7	Gold

Women's singles

Year	Opponent	Score	Result
1954	Iris Cooley	11–7, 11–5	Winner
1955	Margaret Varner Bloss	12–9, 5–11, 1–11	Runner-up
1956	Margaret Varner Bloss	8–11, 5–11	Runner-up
1957	Margaret Varner Bloss	11–2, 11–7	Winner
1958	Margaret Varner Bloss	11–7, 12–10	Winner
1959	Heather Ward	7–11, 11–3, 4–11	Runner-up
1960	Margaret Varner Bloss	11–1, 11–9	Winner
1961	Ursula Smith	11–2, 11–6	Winner
1962	Ursula Smith	11–4, 11–0	Winner
1963	Angela Bairstow	11–5, 11–9	Winner
1964	Ursula Smith	11–0, 11–3	Winner
1966	Imre Rietveld	11–6, 11–7	Winner
1967	Noriko Takagi	5–11, 11–8, 12–10	Winner

Women's doubles

Year	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1954	Susan Devlin	Iris Rogers June White	15–7, 12–15, 15–8	Winner
1955	Susan Devlin	Iris Rogers June White	15–18, 15–10, 9–15	Runner-up
1956	Susan Devlin	Iris Rogers June White	17–18, 15–12, 15–12	Winner
1959	Susan Devlin	Iris Rogers June White	15–11, 10–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1960	Susan Devlin	Inge Birgit Hansen Kirsten Thorndahl	15–13, 15–6	Winner
1961	Sue Peard	Catherine Dunglison Wilma Tyre	15–5, 15–4	Winner
1962	Tonny Holst-Christensen	Karin Jørgensen Ulla Rasmussen	15–5, 15–3	Winner
1963	Sue Peard	Karin Jørgensen Ulla Rasmussen	15–6, 15–9	Winner
1964	Sue Peard	Karin Jørgensen Ulla Rasmussen	11–15, 15–6, 10–15	Runner-up
1966	Sue Peard	Karin Jørgensen Ulla Rasmussen	15–5, 14–17, 15–12	Winner
1967	Janet Brennan	Imre Rietveld Ulla Strand	15–11, 8–15, 4–15	Runner-up
1971	Gillian Gilks	Hiroe Yuki Noriko Takagi	10–15, 13–18	Runner-up

• Goucher College Athletics Hall of Fame
• USA Badminton Walk of Fame Plaza: Judy Devlin Hashman Archived 11 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine
• Sports Biographies – Devlin, Judy (Mrs. Hashman)