Persona

McKenzie, Dorothy (Dot)

1909-1981

Dorothy (McKenzie) Walton (1909-1981), a graduate from high school in Swift Current, enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan (B.A., 1929; M.A., 1931) in 1926. From 1926 to 1930, she won more than 50 championships at the local, provincial and intervarsity levels. Walton played on 14 U of S athletic teams and was the first female awarded the Oak Shield as the University's outstanding athlete. While a student at the University of Saskatchewan, she represented the school on the intervarsity debate team, was a member of the Athletic Directorate and served as vice president of the Students Representative Council. Walton moved to Toronto in 1931 where she took up badminton. In 1939-40, she became the first player to hold Canadian, United States and All-England badminton titles concurrently and was recognized as the premier player in the world. In 1940, she was runner up in voting for the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's athlete of the year. In a poll by the Canadian Press, Dorothy was named one of the top six female athletes in Canada for the first half of the 20th century. She was a founding member of the Consumers' Association of Canada and was president from 1950 to 1953. In 1973, Walton was made a Member of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour. She is an inductee into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.