Ralph Nichols

English badminton player

Ralph Nichols

Ralph Nichols in 1933
Personal information
Born	(1910-08-12)12 August 1910 Islington
Died	27 May 2001(2001-05-27) (aged 90)
Sport
Country	England
Sport	Badminton
Handedness	Right

Ralph Cyril Fulford Nichols (12 August 1910 – 27 May 2001) was an English male international badminton player.

Badminton career

Nichols won 9 All England Open Badminton Championships titles between 1932 and 1939, 5 of them in men's singles, 3 in men's doubles with his older brother Leslie Nichols and 1 in mixed doubles, and is the last Englishman to win the All England Open in men's singles (1938).^[1]He also won three Irish Championships.

He was part of the English touring team that visited Canada during 1930. A match was held at the Granite Club in Toronto which England won 7–2.^[2][3]

Nichols was included in the Badminton Hall of Fame in 1997.^[4]

Achievements

International tournaments (27 titles, 15 runners-up)

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1932	All England Open	Raymond M. White	5–15, 15–11, 18–16	Winner
1934	All England Open	Thomas P. Dick	15–11, 15–8	Winner
1935	All England Open	Raymond M. White	10–15, 7–15	Runner-up
1935	French Open	Ian Maconachie	15–8, 16–18, 15–10	Winner
1936	Irish Open	James Rankin	15–11, 15–7	Winner
1936	All England Open	Raymond M. White	18–16, 17–18, 15–10	Winner
1937	Scottish Open	Thomas P. Dick	13–15, 15–14, 15–11	Winner
1937	All England Open	Thomas P. Dick	15–8, 15–7	Winner
1938	All England Open	Jesper Bie	15–4, 15–5	Winner
1939	Scottish Open	Maurice Field	15–9, 15–17, 15–7	Winner
1939	All England Open	Tage Madsen	15–10, 13–18, 7–15	Runner-up
1939	Denmark Open	Tage Madsen	10–15, 9–15	Runner-up
1947	Scottish Open	Noel B. Radford	8–15, 16–18	Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1929	Welsh International	Donald C. Hume	Arthur Hamilton Willoughby Hamilton	15–12, 15–7	Winner
1931	Welsh International	Leslie Nichols	Arthur Hamilton Willoughby Hamilton	15–8, 12–15, 2–15	Runner-up
1932	Irish Open	Donald C. Hume	Thomas P. Dick Raymond M. White	15–11, 8–15, 15–2	Winner
1932	All England Open	Leslie Nichols	Donald C. Hume Raymond M. White	15–14, 16–18, 4–15	Runner-up
1934	Irish Open	Donald C. Hume	Ian Maconachie Willoughby Hamilton	9–15, 15–12, 5–15	Runner-up
1934	All England Open	Leslie Nichols	Donald C. Hume Raymond M. White	12–15, 15–12, 7–15	Runner-up
1935	All England Open	Leslie Nichols	Donald C. Hume Raymond M. White	12–15, 13–15	Runner-up
1935	French Open	Geoffrey J. Fish	F. L. Treasure Alan Titherley	15–2, 15–18, 15–9	Winner
1936	All England Open	Leslie Nichols	Donald C. Hume Raymond M. White	15–7, 15–2	Winner
1937	Scottish Open	Ian Maconachie	Donald C. Hume Raymond M. White	8–15, 15–9, 15–7	Winner
1937	All England Open	Leslie Nichols	Donald C. Hume Raymond M. White	15–6, 18–14	Winner
1938	All England Open	Leslie Nichols	Ian Maconachie Raymond M. White	15–12, 7–15, 15–9	Winner
1939	All England Open	Leslie Nichols	Thomas Boyle James Rankin	4–15, 3–15	Runner-up
1939	Denmark Open	Raymond M. White	Carl Frøhlke Tage Madsen	15–6, 15–3	Winner
1947	Scottish Open	Ian Maconachie	Noel B. Radford W. F. G. Normand	15–6, 15–4	Winner
1949	French Open	Geoffrey J. Fish	Foo Sun Lau Yat Sun Lau	3–15, 12–15	Runner-up
1950	Scottish Open	Barron Renton	Warwick Shute Tom Wingfield	15–4, 15–7	Winner
1954	French Open	Geoffrey J. Fish	Pierre Lenoir Ghislain Vasseur	15–6, 15–6	Winner

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1931	Welsh International	Nora Coop	Leslie Nichols Hazel Hogarth	15–8, 18–15	Winner
1932	Welsh International	Nora Coop	Thomas P. Dick Hazel Hogarth	3–15, 15–1, 12–15	Runner-up
1935	French Open	Diana Doveton	Geoffrey J. Fish Betty Uber	15–11, 15–10	Winner
1937	All England Open	J. W. Stewart	Ian Maconachie Thelma Kingsbury	11–15, 12–15	Runner-up
1938	All England Open	Bessie Staples	Raymond M. White Betty Uber	10–15, 9–15	Runner-up
1939	All England Open	Bessie Staples	James Rankin Mavis Macnaughton	15–10, 6–15, 15–8	Winner
1939	Denmark Open	Bessie Staples	Raymond M. White Diana Doveton	17–14, 15–7	Winner
1947	Scottish Open	Bessie Shearlaw	J. S. Millar Elizabeth Armstrong	15–7, 15–5	Winner
1947	Irish Open	Bessie Shearlaw	Thomas Boyle W. Swann	15–8, 15–3	Winner
1949	French Open	Mavis Henderson	David Choong Anne Lehmeier	12–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1954	French Open	Elisabeth O'Beirne	Henri Pellizza Noëlle Ailloud	15–4, 15–8	Winner

Summary

Rank	Event	Date	Venue
1	Men's singles	1932, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938	All England Open
	Men's doubles	1936, 1937, 1938
	Mixed doubles	1939
1	Men's singles	1937, 1939	Scottish Open
	Men's doubles	1937, 1947, 1950
	Mixed doubles	1947
1	Men's singles	1936	Irish Championships
	Men's doubles	1932
	Mixed doubles	1947
1	Men's doubles	1939	Denmark Open
	Mixed doubles	1939
1	Men's singles	1935	French Open
	Men's doubles	1935, 1954
	Mixed doubles	1935, 1954
1	Men's doubles	1929	Welsh Open
	Mixed doubles	1931

References

1. "Ralph Nichols". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Holdings Limited. 9 June 2001. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
2. Guillain, J.Y. Badminton : An Illustrated History - From ancient pastime to Olympic sport. Editions Publibook. ISBN 978-2-7483-8108-5.
3. "UK, Outward Passenger Lists, Liverpool 1930 November". Ancestry UK.
4. "Badminton Icon: Ralph Nichols". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2025.

• BadmintonOnline.com: Ralph Nichols (英国)^{[permanent dead link]} (in Chinese)

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