Ahmedabad to New York: The Rise of Badminton

?Before 1878 the sport of badminton was not well known in New York. It was originally played in the Ahmedabad Badminton Club of India, even the first rules of the Badminton Club of the City of New York were copied from those of the Ahmedabad Badminton Club of India as played in 1874.?

From Ahmedabad, the sport went to England and Canada. Then totally by accident, badminton made its way from Ahmedabad to New York thanks to two young world traveling American socialites.?

In the winter of 1878 Bayard Clarke returned from India. He joined forces with E. Langdon Wilks and Norman R. Whitehouse, both of whom had just returned from England, to form the exclusive, elite club which meet at the 71st Regiment Armory at the corner of Broadway and 34th Street. An armory was the ideal place because of the amount of available space and the high vaulted ceilings. Active daytime activities were centred around 21st to 34th Streets during this Gilded Age era so it was the ideal home for a thriving club.?Their sisters, Lilly Clarke and Katherine and Alice E. Wilks were also the club’s founding members. ?

This revolutionary idea of including women in a sport led to the club being not only sporting institution but also a social institution. The first members of the club consisted of the leading debutantes of the season as the young gentlemen founders had a preference for pretty, unmarried girls. ?

Interestingly enough the club was founded in part for the love of the sport and in part “to relieve the dullness of the Lenten season.” ?Lent is?a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It's a period of preparation to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter. Over time the Badminton Club became the host of several festivities during this season and attracted a lot of traction. ?

Soon, three young gentlemen, John Aspinwall Hadden, his brother Alexander M. Hadden and Matthew Astor Wilks were added to the original 5 founding members. These eight invited their friends and relatives to join and obtained the patronage of prominent society matrons. The popularity of the club grew. Flowers were in profusion and tea was served by Sherry’s. ?

The Club was very soon covered on the sports pages, in the social columns, and in the general feature articles in newspapers and magazines on changing lifestyles and new trends. ?

The popularity of the sport led to an amusing anecdote. The women played in trains and picture hats and the men played in Prince Albert coats and chokers until 1900, when Lyle Mah the tennis star, bet Goelet Gallatin, the undefeated champion of the club, that he could beat him. He was then elected as a member. At Mahan's first appearance on the court, he removed his vest and coat. The ladies were shocked and demanded an apology, which they did not get. Mahan went on the defeat Gallatin and Tennis togs became the standard dress code for the sport. ??

On a Saturday afternoon in March 1928, the club's 50th year, two reporters from the New Yorker went to visit the 12th Regiment Armory. Although the visual background was wanting, the club had collected 50 years of tradition. Badminton now had its roots deep in New York society. Members are now allowed to smoke, the only innovation in years. ?

There were 14 courts, the nets were over 5 feet and the players lobbed and walloped the shuttlecock over the net. The reporters compared the badminton court to tennis. The courts were 1/3rd the size of a tennis court, nets twice as high, and rackets so frail that the impact with a tennis ball would destroy them. ?

They compared the game, on the other hand with squatting flies, however, within a few minutes they were impressed and said, “What a lot of net science and deceit and skill goes into the service.” The reporters of the New Yorker thought the game was more interesting to watch and more fun to play then squash. ?

The game, unfortunately never took off in America. The exclusivity of the club and the discovery of the motorcar that created a fad going out of town reduced the allure of the game.

By the early 1910s there were vacancies instead of a waitlist for the membership. The club was run quite autocratically by a group of 7 members that elected their own successors. It was still the only one of its kind and thus this led to the decline of the game. ???

The game unfortunately never took off in America. The exclusivity of the club and the discovery of motorcars that created a fad going out of town reduced the allure of the game. By the early 1910s, there were vacancies instead of a waitlist for membership. The club was run quite autocratically by a group of 7 members that elected their own successors. It was still the only one of its kind and thus this led to the decline of the game.????

The silver lining was that the game picked up in the late 1920s. During the depression badminton became the "fastest growing sport in America". Although still not popular in the USA, the game has emerged as a challenging and enchanting game in its own right. ?

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