David G. Freeman
Personal information
Nickname	Pasadena Flash
Country	United States
Born	(1920-09-06)6 September 1920 Pasadena, California
Died	28 June 2001(2001-06-28) (aged 80) Rancho Santa Fe, California
Handedness	Right
Medal record Men'sbadminton Representing United States Thomas Cup 1949 England Team

David Guthrie Freeman (6 September 1920 – 28 June 2001) was an Americanbadminton player fromCalifornia who became an icon in the sport's history.^[1]

Freeman was born on September 6, 1920, inPasadena, 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. atPomona College.^[2] He enteredHarvard Medical School in 1942 and completed its accelerated war-time curriculum in 1945.

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.^[3] Displaying his characteristic quickness, agility, and shot-making precision, Freeman won the prestigiousAll-England Championship on his only try (1949) and remains the sole American to win the men's singles there.^[4] In this one-time-only badminton stint in Europe he also wonThomas Cup singles matches against eventual championMalaya, and captured theDanish Open. In all, he won three matches each againstOoi Teik Hock and the formidableWong Peng Soon.

After apparently retiring from badminton in 1950 to concentrate on a career inneurosurgery, Freeman made a brief comeback in 1953. He won the four tournaments that he entered which concluded with theU.S. National Championships inBoston, and a victory in the same hall where he had last lost a singles match fourteen years earlier.^[5] He is the only American born male to be inducted into both theU.S. and World Badminton Halls of Fame.^[6][7]

Freeman married his wife Addie in 1942 and they had two sons (Rees and Dave) and a daughter (Diana Peterson).^[7]

Freeman died on 28 June 2001, at San Diego Hospice. He was 80 and had Merkle cell carcinoma.^[7]

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1949	Denmark Open	Ooi Teik Hock	15–11, 14–18, 17–15	Winner
1949	All England	Ooi Teik Hock	15–1, 15–6	Winner

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1949	All England	Wynn Rogers	Ooi Teik Hock Teoh Seng Khoon	5–15, 6–15	Runner-up

Freeman's racket sport exploits were not limited to badminton. He won the U.S. Junior Tennis Championship in 1938, defeatingWelby Van Horn in the final, and withBill Talbert was the runner-up in U.S. men's doubles in 1943.^[8][9] 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.

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1943	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Talbert	Jack Kramer Frank Parker	2–6, 4–6, 4–6

• American male badminton players
• 1920 births
• 2001 deaths
• Pasadena City College alumni
• Harvard Medical School alumni
• American male tennis players
• Tennis players from Pasadena, California
• Pomona College alumni
• 20th-century American sportsmen

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