Ruth Empey
Born and raised in Cornwall, Ruth (Mullan) Empey attended Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School where she played a variety of sports.
Ruth’s athletic prowess developed at a young age as she played street hockey with her three brothers. Ruth, an active child, could always be found at Joe. St-Denis Field (then called “Lacrosse Field”) engaged in on sport or another.
She was an avid participant in track and field, softball, tennis and bowling. It was not until Ruth moved to Glengarry and began playing badminton that she would become recognized as one of the area’s elite athletes.
Ruth moved to Williamstown in 1952 where she and her husband settled on the Glen Road, living there until retirement in 1980. Although she left her native city for the green fields of Glengarry, she continued to return to Cornwall to pursue her athletic passion – badminton.
Ruth played in the Cornwall SDG Badminton Club for 15 years between 1954 and 1969. During that time, she would only lose the ladies’ singles title twice, winning the championship 13 times. Even when Ruth lost her singles’ title, she still managed to be on the winning side. When Jean Malyon defeated her for the singles’ title, Ruth still captured the mixed doubles title and the women’s doubles title.
Her daughter Marilyn remembers how at one time, a local celebrity rubbed shoulders with an internationally recognized athlete. While working as the Executive Housekeeper for the Holiday Inn in Cornwall, Ruth had the opportunity to meet one of the greatest basketball players in history – Wilt Chamberlain.
Ruth had her picture taken with the seven foot tall Hall of Famer. Because of Ruth’s height being just under five feet, she was required to stand on a chair. Both athletes used their height to dominate their respective sports.
Ruth would frequent tournaments in various areas in Eastern Ontario with remarkable success, often frustrating her opponents with her skill and her remarkable court sense. Often underestimated by opponents because of her size, Ruth usually made them regret it as she would force the larger layers to chase the bird from one side of the court to the other.
Upon Ruth’s retirement from competitive badminton, the Cornwall SDG Badminton Club decided to retire the Ladies’ Singles Champion Trophy. It was replaced with the “Ruth Empey” trophy in commemoration of Ruth’s skill and dedication of the sport. Once Ruth and her husband retired, they moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, where Ruth became an accomplished bowler.
In 1997, Ruth decided to return to Canada to be closer to her family, and in 1998, she returned to ten pin bowling, but a sudden bout with the flu forced her to hang up her shoes and retire from sports.
Ruth Empey was inducted into the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame in 1968, and on August 26 she will be inducted into the Glengarry Sports Hall of Fame as well.
