Maurice M. Charlton (Sopha)
Maurice Charlton was one of the best tennis and badminton players ever to come out of Peterborough, the Liftlock City.
In the early 1940s she began playing tennis at the Quaker and Kawartha Clubs “because my husband Ralph played.” It did not take long for her championship qualities to show in tennis. In mixed play Maurice and Ralph partnered to numerous titles and she dominated in ladies’ singles from 1946 to 1970. This era produced many consecutive years of championship play in Peterborough and District. Along the way she also won her share of ladies’ doubles matches with various partners. To achieve comparable competition she would regularly play against male opponents. Former Mayor Doug Galvin states that “Maurice was a fantastic player, years ahead of her time.”
Her natural athletic ability allowed her to make the transition from tennis to badminton with ease. She dominated in ladies’ singles from 1952 through 1964 and again in 1966 and 1967. She was equally successful in doubles: winning ladies’ nine times between 1956 and 1973, mixed from 1951 through 1960 and again in 1966.
Maurice excelled in both sports over four decades and instructed junior players for approximately twenty years. She was awarded the Charlie Kearns Memorial Trophy in 1960 as Peterborough’s Athlete of the Year.
Maurice was born on April 21, 1923 in Havelock, ON and moved to Peterborough in 1941. She died in 2008.
Year Inducted:
1998
Status:
Deceased
Maurice Charlton was one of the best tennis and badminton players ever to come out of Peterborough, the Liftlock City.
In the early 1940s she began playing tennis at the Quaker and Kawartha Clubs “because my husband Ralph played.” It did not take long for her championship qualities to show in tennis. In mixed play Maurice and Ralph partnered to numerous titles and she dominated in ladies’ singles from 1946 to 1970. This era produced many consecutive years of championship play in Peterborough and District. Along the way she also won her share of ladies’ doubles matches with various partners. To achieve comparable competition she would regularly play against male opponents. Former Mayor Doug Galvin states that “Maurice was a fantastic player, years ahead of her time.”
Her natural athletic ability allowed her to make the transition from tennis to badminton with ease. She dominated in ladies’ singles from 1952 through 1964 and again in 1966 and 1967. She was equally successful in doubles: winning ladies’ nine times between 1956 and 1973, mixed from 1951 through 1960 and again in 1966.
Maurice excelled in both sports over four decades and instructed junior players for approximately twenty years. She was awarded the Charlie Kearns Memorial Trophy in 1960 as Peterborough’s Athlete of the Year.
Maurice was born on April 21, 1923 in Havelock, ON and moved to Peterborough in 1941. She died in 2008.