Jim Poole (1932-2021). major highlights
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Stan Bischof.
Dr. James Poole was born outside Nashville, TN, in 1932 but spent the majority of his life in California and Arizona. He became a world-class international badminton player and one of the most decorated players in USA Badminton history.
An all-around athlete, Poole played basketball and baseball for San Diego State University, and was a member of the winning U.S. Pan-American Games basketball team in 1955. He earned a doctorate from LSU and worked as a college professor for 30 years at Cal State University Northridge and CSU Dominguez Hills. As his badminton career waned, Poole served as an NFL official from 1975-1995, and worked two Super Bowls as a back judge. He worked as a supervisor for the NFL in New York City, then moved to Arizona where he was an official observer and trainer for the NFL at Arizona Cardinals home games. He died in Blacksburg, Virginia, after a brief battle with cancer November 7, 2021.
He first came to notice in the late 1950’s in his mid-twenties and became one of the world’s leading singles players in the early 1960’s. He was one of only four non-Asians to win the Malaysian Open MS title in 1961, a feat of which he was the most proud. He won U.S. Open MS titles in 1958 and 1961, and was in the final of both the U.S. and Irish Opens in 1968 at the age of 36.
Many thought he played his best MD in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s when he was approaching the age of 40. Those were the years he played an 11-season partnership with fellow left-hander Don Paup. They reached the finals of the U.S. Open five times in nine tries, winning twice. He and Paup won all five of the U.S. Closed National Championships they contested as a team. Poole won 65 U.S. Championships titles, and he took the Over-55 MS title in the World Masters Games in 1987. The 21-year span from Poole’s first to last title is the longest of any U.S. player. He was noted for his tactical astuteness, shot-making accuracy, and consistency. Poole was a member of seven U.S. Thomas Cup teams from 1958-1976, sometimes serving as coach and player. He won over 70% of his Thomas Cup matches. He was a member of the USAB Senior Hall of Fame, and in 1970 he was elected to the USAB Walk of Fame.
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