A collection of historical materials highlighting the sport of Badminton at Pasadena Badminton Club, focused on items that are not available elsewhere. If you have any materials to help complete the various collections or start a new one please consider submitting them.
In 1933 core group of Badminton enthusiasts saw need of a dedicated facility.
The National Guard Armory in Pasadena filled this need nicely..Except during
World War II, the Armory remained the Club’s permanent playing site until PBC
was evicted in 1989.
The facility had four courts, with ceilings measuring 22 feet over the outside
courts and 26 feet over the inside courts. Crossbeams added a distinctive
challenge: on the inside courts, a successful singles serve had to arc over a
beam to reach the back line.
Excellence in play and instruction produced national dominance and early champions.
Founded in 1933, the Pasadena Badminton Club quickly became one of America’s
premier badminton institutions. From 1939 to 1982, its members won every
national men’s singles and doubles championship except six. During that
remarkable era, PBC players captured seven world championships, along with more
U.S. National, U.S. Junior National, and U.S. Senior National titles than any
other club.
Among its earliest standouts was Dave Freeman, who became U.S. singles champion
in 1939. He went on to become world champion and remained undefeated for more
than 11 years
During the 1950s and 1960s, PBC was primarily a club for top-ranked national and
international players. The entire U.S. men’s team trained there, as did most of
the women’s team.
Joe and Lois Alston established a junior development program that produced many
of the great U.S. players of the next three decades. In the 1970s, the Hales
family—Stan, Diane, Ginny, and Al—helped lead the Club to even greater
prominence.
After many years at the Armory, the club moved their emphasis to developing the San Gabriel Valley Badminton facility and gradually disbanded.
The Club’s future became uncertain when the City of Pasadena chose to take
over the Armory from the National Guard. Bob Cook was elected president in 1980
and negotiated an agreement with the City to build a new badminton facility near
the Rose Bowl.
Special interests prevented that agreement from being realized, and PBC was
ultimately evicted from the Armory in 1987.
Building the San Gabriel Valley Badminton Club
After years without a permanent home, PBC partnered with Eric McMullin to build
a badminton facility in El Monte, California. A disgruntled City of Pasadena was
required to finance the effort because its agreement with PBC did not specify
that the replacement facility had to be located within Pasadena. In 1995, the
three-court facility opened as the San Gabriel
Valley Badminton Club (SGVBC). Its popularity led to several expansions,
eventually growing into the current 18-court configuration.
SGVBC became the first successful for-profit badminton facility built in the
United States. It also became the model for the “warehouse club,” helping spark
the growth of similar badminton clubs across the country in the 2000s.
Later Contributions and Lasting Legacy
PBC continued operating within SGVBC. In 2012, the Club funded the development
of the Rating System,
which became the player and tournament management system for the Southern
California Badminton Association (SCBA).
Birth of the USA Badminton Museum
PBC officially closed in 2022 and dedicated its remaining funds to founding the
USA Badminton Museum, ensuring that
its history and influence would continue to be preserved.
|
In 1975 Joe and Lois Alston invited me to join the Pasadena Badminton Club, the
de facto United States National Training Center. The 4-court facility was in the
Pasadena Armory Building. Over the next few years, I befriended and played
with many of the great U.S. players from the ’50s and ‘60s. I was elected
President in 1980. Prominent on the lounge wall was the “Wall of Fame” where
past champions were recognized. Realizing the gold mine of history which existed
at the Club I rounded up legacy promises for a PBC Museum.
In 1990 the City of Pasadena evicted PBC and the budding museum from our
home of over 44 years. With our well-stocked treasury, we completed in 1995
the first “warehouse club,” the San Gabriel Valley Badminton Club. This included
space for a permanent museum, but in the intervening years fires and pilfering
had decimated the PBC archives. A few years later Kelly Tibbetts donated her
records and memorabilia to PBC and in 2012 Lee Calvert left her extensive
collection for posterity. At this point enough badminton records and history had
been accumulated to establish a badminton museum; however, establishing a
physical entity no longer made sense. Records, books, photos and knowledge
were all going online.
During the next 8 years I fumbled around trying to find a technical solution for an
online museum. Then I stumbled on to the US Badminton Museum created by
Stan Bischof and, BINGO, everything clicked, finally, after 40 years. by Bob Cook |
© 1995-2026. All Rights Reserved. Stan Bischof (stan@worldbadminton.com). Last updated 31 July 2026 14:08.