Susan Devlin

Susan Devlin Peard (born 1931) is a former badminton player who represented both the USA and Ireland in international competition. She is the daughter of the late J. Frank Devlin, an Irish badminton great, who moved his family to the United States in the late 1930's. She is the older sister of the iconic Judy Devlin Hashman, with whom she won numerous international women's doubles championships, including six titles at the prestigious All-England Championships (1954, 1956, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1966) [Pat Davis, The "Guinness Book of Badminton" (Enfield, Middlesex, England: Guinness, Superlatives Ltd., 1983) 108.] . The Devlin sisters won a record ten United States women's doubles titles between 1953 and 1966 [Herbert Scheele ed., The "International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1971" (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1971) 313.] . They also formed a doubles pairing that won all of its individual matches for the world champion U.S. Uber Cup (women's international) teams of 1957 and 1960 [Herbert Scheele ed., The "International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1967" (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd. 1967) 97-101.] . In 1960 Susan Devlin married Irish badminton player Frank Peard and thereafter resided in Ireland. She won two Irish national women's doubles titles and played Uber Cup for Ireland in the '62-'63 and '65-'66 campaigns [Herbert Scheele ed., The "International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1967" (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1967) 102-106.] . In 1976 she was inducted into the U.S. Badminton Hall of Fame, now known as the Walk of Fame.

References