Evelyn Howard (1920-2012) was a 3-time U.S. badminton champion who loved
the sport fiercely, and a Physical Education teacher.
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Stan Bischof.
Born in San Diego, May 1, 1920, Evelyn grew up with two older brothers, and graduated from San Diego High School. She was an avid lover of sports, and excelled in racket sports, especially badminton. She was the Women’s Singles winner of the U.S. National Badminton Championships in 1940, and won both the WS and WD titles in 1942, WD with Janet Wright. She was featured playing the sport she loved for various sponsors, and appeared in a Time Magazine ad. She also earned a Physical Education degree from UCLA in 1942.
When WWII halted badminton play, Evelyn enrolled in a Masters’ program at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, and earned an M.S. degree in Physical Education, Health, & Hygiene in 1945, as well as teaching at the college that year. She married Nelson Howard whom she had met playing badminton at the University Club in Boston. She continued teaching at Wellesley until 1949. Three children, Jim, Kent, and Judith arrived, but Evelyn still remained active in her love for badminton. When the children were grown, she returned to teaching P.E. at Wellesley for nine years. She then moved on to Boston Bouve College at Northeastern University for 16 years, retiring in 1985.
Evelyn was one of the first eight players inducted into the Helms Hall of Fame in Los Angeles in 1958, and the San Diego Hall of Champions in 1975. She was inducted posthumously into the Wellesley Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014. She was described as a competitor who did not like to lose. In her later years, Howard was actively involved with the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) before it became part of the NCAA, and her efforts contributed to the passage of Title IX in 1972. She died May 23, 2012, at age 92.
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