Margaret Varner Bloss
Encyclopedia
Margaret Varner Bloss was an American athlete and professor of physical education from El Paso, Texas
who excelled in three distinctly different racket sports: badminton
, squash
, and tennis
. She is the only person to have represented the USA at the highest level of international competition in all three sports. She is also the only person to have won the U.S. national singles championships of both badminton and squash or to have been inducted into the respective U.S. halls of fame of both sports.
, then the world's most prestigious badminton tournament for individual players. She was a runner-up in the All England Singles in 1957, 1958 and 1960, and shared the Doubles title in 1958. The fact that she won only one U.S. Singles title in badminton
(1955) is largely attributable to the presence of two formidable contemporaries: first, Ethel Marshall
, and later, Judy Devlin Hashman
. Along with Ms. Varner they form a kind of "Great Triumvirate" of American Women's Badminton.
Ms. Varner was a member of the world champion U.S. Uber Cup
(Women's International Badminton) teams of 1957 and 1960. After helping to secure victory in the second of these triennial events she retired from badminton competition. She was inducted into the U.S. Badminton Hall of Fame (now called the Walk of Fame) in 1965 and the World Badminton Hall of Fame
in 1999.
and Maria Bueno
. Her Wimbledon partner that year was the redoubtable Margaret Osborne duPont
with whom she formed a close lifetime friendship. In 1961 and 1962 the duPont-Varner partnership won doubles matches for U.S. Wightman Cup
teams that defeated Great Britain.
racehorses. After her husband's death she pursued this interest seriously with her friend Margaret Osborne duPont
. They formed the duPont-Bloss Stables, near El Paso, and often gave their horses names taken from the argot of tennis and other racket sports. In 1996 they were ranked as Top Twenty Racehorse Owners by Thoroughbred Times.
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
who excelled in three distinctly different racket sports: badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
, and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
. She is the only person to have represented the USA at the highest level of international competition in all three sports. She is also the only person to have won the U.S. national singles championships of both badminton and squash or to have been inducted into the respective U.S. halls of fame of both sports.
Badminton career
Perhaps Ms. Varner's most impressive accomplishments came in badminton, which she took up at Texas University for Women in the late 1940s, having already gained prominence in junior and collegiate tennis. In 1955 and 1956 she won consecutive Women's Singles titles at the All-England ChampionshipsAll England Open Badminton Championships
The All England Open Badminton Championships, or simply All England, is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious badminton tournaments. Played annually, it developed after the success of world's first badminton tournament held in Guildford in 1898...
, then the world's most prestigious badminton tournament for individual players. She was a runner-up in the All England Singles in 1957, 1958 and 1960, and shared the Doubles title in 1958. The fact that she won only one U.S. Singles title in badminton
U.S. Open Badminton Championships
The U.S. Open Badminton Championships is an annual badminton tournament first held in 1954 when the American Badminton Association opened the U.S. National Badminton Championships to foreign competition. For the full list of winners see List of U.S. Open Badminton champions.-21st century:-External...
(1955) is largely attributable to the presence of two formidable contemporaries: first, Ethel Marshall
Ethel Marshall
Ethel Marshall is a former American badminton player noted for her mobility and shot-making prowess.-Career:She won the US Women's Singles title on all seven occasions that she contested it , defeating seventeen year old Judy Devlin in the last of these...
, and later, Judy Devlin Hashman
Judy Devlin
Judy Devlin is a former badminton player who won more major international titles than any other player of her era....
. Along with Ms. Varner they form a kind of "Great Triumvirate" of American Women's Badminton.
Ms. Varner was a member of the world champion U.S. Uber Cup
Uber Cup
The Uber Cup, sometimes called the World Team Championships for Women, is a major international badminton competition contested by women's national badminton teams. First held in 1956-1957 and contested at three year intervals, it has been contested every two years since 1984 when its scheduled...
(Women's International Badminton) teams of 1957 and 1960. After helping to secure victory in the second of these triennial events she retired from badminton competition. She was inducted into the U.S. Badminton Hall of Fame (now called the Walk of Fame) in 1965 and the World Badminton Hall of Fame
Badminton Hall of Fame
The Badminton Hall of Fame honors players who have shown exceptional skill at badminton, all-time great coaches and referees, and other major contributors to the game.There is also a USA Badminton Hall of Fame and a Badminton Canada's Hall of Fame ....
in 1999.
Squash career
Before her badminton career ended, Ms Varner had already started to make her mark in squash by reaching the singles final of the U.S. championships in 1959. In 1960 she won the first of four consecutive national squash titles. She represented the USA against Great Britain in the Wolfe-Noel Cup matches (1959, 1963), and Philadelphia for five straight years in the Howe Cup. In 2000 she was inducted into the US Squash Rackets Association Hall of Fame.Tennis career
Ms. Varner's earliest racket sport triumphs came in tennis with victories in National Junior Girls Doubles (1944 and 1945) and in numerous Texas state and regional events. She eventually played the circuit of national and international tournaments which, in this amateur-only era, were generally held in the six month span alternating with that of most badminton and squash tournaments. Though she never reached the relative heights in tennis that she did in badminton and squash, she was a strong enough player to reach the final of Wimbledon Women's Doubles in 1958, losing to Hall-of-Famers Althea GibsonAlthea Gibson
Althea Gibson was a World No. 1 American sportswoman who became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956. She is sometimes referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the color barrier...
and Maria Bueno
Maria Bueno
Maria Esther Andion Bueno is a former professional tennis player from Brazil. During her 11-year career , she won 19 Major titles ....
. Her Wimbledon partner that year was the redoubtable Margaret Osborne duPont
Margaret Osborne duPont
Margaret Evelyn Osborne duPont is a former World No. 1 American female tennis player.DuPont won a total of 37 singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, which places her fourth on the all-time list despite never entering the Australian Championships. She won 25 of her Grand...
with whom she formed a close lifetime friendship. In 1961 and 1962 the duPont-Varner partnership won doubles matches for U.S. Wightman Cup
Wightman Cup
The Wightman Cup was a team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 between teams from the United States and Great Britain. U.S. player Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generate international interest in women's tennis the way Davis Cup did for men's...
teams that defeated Great Britain.
Horse Breeding
After her career in racket sports ended, Ms. Varner would gradually immerse herself in a different kind of sports venture. Her marriage to horse trainer Gerald Bloss in the late 1960s produced a son, Leigh, in 1971. It also piqued Mrs. Bloss's interest in the breeding and training of thoroughbredThoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorses. After her husband's death she pursued this interest seriously with her friend Margaret Osborne duPont
Margaret Osborne duPont
Margaret Evelyn Osborne duPont is a former World No. 1 American female tennis player.DuPont won a total of 37 singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, which places her fourth on the all-time list despite never entering the Australian Championships. She won 25 of her Grand...
. They formed the duPont-Bloss Stables, near El Paso, and often gave their horses names taken from the argot of tennis and other racket sports. In 1996 they were ranked as Top Twenty Racehorse Owners by Thoroughbred Times.