Texas Woman's University Athletics

Abbie Rutledge hailed from Alice, Texas, and lettered in badminton, field hockey and tennis as an undergraduate at Texas State College for Women. She returned as a graduate student and coached all sports. Rutledge was the badminton partner for Mary “Poggy” Suba Barbaria, another member of the TWU Athletics Hall of Fame.

In 1940-41, Rutledge played on the TSCW squad that scored on the touring team of the United States Field Hockey Association when they visited the Denton campus. She was listed in Who's Who Among Students at American Colleges and Universities her junior and senior years and was president of her senior class. A health and physical education major, Rutledge received her B.S. in 1943, then returned for her master's degree in 1945.

Rutledge was ranked in the top eight women's tennis singles players in the U.S. from 1950 to 1965. She won the Midwest Women's Tennis Singles Championship from 1950-1959. She was also a member of the American Tennis Team and played internationally in Scotland, Ireland, Germany, France, and Denmark.

Also an outstanding badminton player, Rutledge was ranked in the top eight women's singles players in the U.S. for 17 years. She represented the U.S. Badminton Team in South Africa and the European Championships and was on the Uber Cup Squad in 1963 and 1966.

She was a professor at Agnes Scott College, Purdue University and Adelphi University. She served as the Dean of Centenary College for Women in Hackettstown, N.J., until her retirement. Rutledge was awarded an honorary doctorate from CCW.

After retiring, she moved to Kennebunkport, Maine, where she lived until her death in March 1996. She co-authored eight books on physical education, sports and dance that are still used in colleges and universities. She contributed articles to the Journal of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Badminton U.S.A.

Rutledge's sister, Dorothy Burris, was present for her posthumous induction.