List of contract bridge people

This list is a compilation of contract bridge players, writers, administrators and personalities who have been recognized for their skills, achievements or contributions to the game as identified by various specific sources.

People recognized by bridge organizations

Hall of Fame

The first bridge Hall of Fame was inaugurated by The Bridge World in 1964 and invested nine members between then and 1966 after which it ceased sponsorship. The American Contract Bridge League adopted the concept to recognize the achievements and contributions of those residing in its territory (USA, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda) and inaugurated its own Hall of Fame[4] in 1995 by accepting the original nine and adding eight others that year.[5] Annually thereafter, new members have been added in as many as three award categories.

  • Open Award – "living individuals who have achieved prominence in the game of bridge and have an outstanding tournament record"[6]
  • von Zedtwitz Award – "living or deceased individuals who have achieved prominence in the game of bridge and have an outstanding tournament record but who may not have been in the limelight for a significant period of time"[6] (20 people in 19 years to 2014)
  • Blackwood Award – "individuals who have contributed greatly to the game of bridge without necessarily being world class players"[6] (19 people to 2014)

Nominees in the Open category must have attained the age of 60 by 1 January of the year of the induction ceremony. The primary basis for consideration in the Open and von Zedtwitz categories is the player's North American and international record and achievements as a member and representative of the ACBL. An individual's personal history, whether good or bad, should be considered in nominating candidates or selecting recipients.

— ACBL Hall of Fame charter, Foundation for the Preservation and Advancement of Bridge ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-15.

In 2008, ACBL established the Foundation for the Preservation and Advancement of Bridge (FPAB) "to support the preservation of bridge history, to recognize individuals for their excellence and service to the game of bridge and to inspire the participation of youth through scholarships and grants."[7]

Most influential personalities

In 2012, the American Contract Bridge League celebrated the 75th anniversary of its creation by the merger of the American Bridge League and the United States Bridge Association in October 1937.[9] In partial recognition, the League published a list of the 52[lower-alpha 1] most influential personalities during its history.[8]

Criteria included:

  • contributions to bidding theory that have stood the test of time;
  • contributions to bridge literature of enduring importance;
  • contributions to law, regulation or administration making bridge more accessible or more fun;
  • charisma that has broadened the appeal of bridge to non-players.

Selections were not limited to ACBL members or North American residents.

Player of the Year

The Player of the Year[10] is awarded to the ACBL player accumulating the most platinum masterpoints[11] in the calendar year.

Canadian Bridge Federation – Hall of Fame

The Canadian Bridge Federation (CBF) is the national bridge organization for Canada and established the CBF Hall of Fame in 2010 to recognize the achievements and contributions of Canadian bridge personalities.

European Bridge League – Awards and Distinctions

The European Bridge League (EBL) is a confederation of national bridge organizations for European countries, established 1947.

World Bridge Federation – Awards and Distinctions

The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the world governing body for bridge, established in 1958.

People recognized in bridge books

Numerous biographical entries are contained in the Encyclopedia of Bridge[13] (1935), the various editions of The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (1964–2011), The Bridge Players' Encyclopedia[14] (1967), and in the British Bridge Almanack (2004).[15]

In addition, the following books provide biographical information about bridge people as of the date of publication.

Aces All by Guy Ramsey (1955)

In the Foreword of Aces All,[16] Ramsey writes that "it is a book about some, though by no means all, of the leading players of today and the immediate yesterday..." He presents biographies of the following (all either British or playing in Britain):

The Bridge Immortals by Victor Mollo (1968)

The Bridge Immortals[17] gives brief biographies of the "greatest bridge people living today", listed here in alphabetical order.

World Class by Marc Smith (1999)

World Class: conversations with the bridge masters[18] features "the crème de la crème of the world of bridge" in their own words. Here is Smith's classification of his interviews.

British Bridge Almanack by Peter Hasenson (2004)

The Editor's Choice[19] nominations are listed alphabetically as follows:

Simply the Best - 20 of the Greatest Bridge Players of all Time by Brian Senior (2015)

In this seventy-page booklet,[20] Senior provides commentary about twenty individuals he regards as the best bridge players or personalities of all time.

Point leaders

American Contract Bridge League

Grand Life Masters (GLM) defined by lifetime ACBL master points (MP), with some condition on major achievements

Players of the Decade – defined by ACBL platinum master points

European Bridge League

Lists of the top European Master Points (EMP) holders in various categories and for various periods

World Bridge Federation

The World Bridge Federation measures achievement in tournament play by a dual system of Master Points and Placing Points[21] and provides ranked lists in Open, Women, and Seniors categories.[22] Short colloquialisms like "Fulvio Fantoni is number one in the world" refer to the WBF Open Ranking. It ranks by Master Points those all-time players whose Placing Points accord "World Grand Master" status. MPs decay but PPs do not, so retired and deceased World Grand Masters remain on the list but drift toward the bottom.

Other listings

Video interviews

The American Contract Bridge League has published at YouTube audio-video interviews of numerous players including almost 30 members of its Hall of Fame. These listings include some other videos of bridge personalities published at YouTube. (Those marked "ACBL Hall of Fame" may be interviews conducted by Audrey Grant, as are the ones so marked.)

Bridge in fiction

Famous people and bridge

See also

People with Wikipedia articles

Notes
  1. The list of most influential "personalities" comprised 52 ranked positions, but four of them (ranks 24, 27, 40 and 51) named two individuals each and two of them (13 and 17) named groups.[8]
  2. Bracketed knockout is a tournament format. "Of all the changes and innovations in duplicate over the past couple of decades, the advent of bracketed KOs is easily the most significant. ... The creator of the format is unknown." – Brent Manley, "The Top 52", Bridge Bulletin 78.4 (April 2012), p. 14.[8]
  3. Manley listed Albert H. Morehead twice, at rank 32 in February and at rank 8 in April. In the May issue ("Oversight corrected", p. 63) he noted that the error leaves room for Harold Vanderbilt, as preface to an unnumbered profile on Vanderbilt.[8]

References
  1. "von Zedtwitz Award". FPAB. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  2. "Open Award". FPAB. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  3. "Blackwood Award". FPAB. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  4. "Hall of Fame". ACBL (acbl.org). Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  5. "ACBL Hall of Fame". Francis, Henry G.; Truscott, Alan F.; Francis, eds. (2001). The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (6th ed.). Memphis, TN: American Contract Bridge League. p. 4. ISBN 0-943855-44-6. OCLC 49606900.
  6. [ACBL Hall of Fame Charter]. "American Contract Bridge League Hall of Fame Operating Procedures" Archived 2 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine. ACBL. March 2011. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  7. Foundation for the Preservation and Advancement of Bridge. FPABridge.org. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  8. The ACBL announced its selections in four issues of its membership magazine Bridge Bulletin. Brent Manley (January 2012). "Significant Influence". Bridge Bulletin. American Contract Bridge League. 78 (1): 18–23. ISSN 1089-6376. February 2012, pp. 22–25. March 2012, pp. 22–25. April 2012, pp. 14–17. May 2012, p. 63.
  9. Morehead, Albert (10 October 1937). "LEAGUES MERGE: Many Tournaments May Be Affected by the New Combination". The New York Times.
  10. Brent Manley (February 2014). "The Right Stuff". Bridge Bulletin. Horn Lake, MS: American Contract Bridge League: 15. ISSN 1089-6376.
  11. Points awarded in national-rated events with no upper masterpoint limit.
  12. "Medals". European Bridge League (EBL). Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  13. Culbertson, Ely (1935). The Encyclopedia of Bridge. The Bridge World, Inc. (New York), 477 pages.
  14. Frey, Richard L.; Truscott, Alan F.; Cohen, Ben, eds. (1967). The Bridge Players' Encyclopedia. London: Paul Hamlyn. OCLC 560654187.
  15. Hasenson, Peter (2004). The British Bridge Almanack. 77 Publishing (London), 490 pages. ISBN 0-9549241-0-X.
  16. Ramsey, Guy (1955). Aces All. London: Museum Press Limited.
  17. Mollo, Victor (1968). The Bridge Immortals. Hart Publishing Company, Inc., New York, 256 pages.
  18. Smith, Marc (1999). World Class, Conversations with the Bridge Masters. Master Point Press (Toronto), 288 pages. ISBN 1-894154-15-0.
  19. Hasenson, Peter (2004). The British Bridge Almanack. London: 77 Publishing. p. 486. ISBN 0-9549241-0-X.
  20. Senior, Brian (2015). Simply the Best - 20 of the Greatest Bridge Players of all Time. Self-published.
  21. Master Points Archived 2 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine. WBF.
  22. Classifications Archived 17 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine. WBF.
  23. Synopsis of Moonraker with its famous bridge hand, in The Times . Retrieved 7 April 2011. (subscription required)
  24. "Gambling". 007: the james bond dossier (TBJD.co.uk). Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  25. Hall, Morduant (29 August 1930). The New York Times. "Movie Review: Animal Crackers". Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  26. Agatha Christie's 1936 novel Cards on the Table features detective Hercule Poirot and a bridge game.
      "Cards on the Table" Archived 16 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Stories. AgathaChristie.com. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  27. The 1950 Hollywood feature film Sunset Boulevard features a bridge game hosted by the former silent film star Norma Desmond.
      Hennigan, Adrian (11 March 2003). "Exploring Sunset Boulevard". Movies. BBC.co.uk. Archived(?) 28 October 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  28. Charles M. Schulz, creator of the comic strip Peanuts, was a "bridge enthusiast" and Peanuts sometimes featured bridge. A series of strips during May 1997, among others, featured a table constituted by the dog Snoopy, Woodstock, and other bird friends.
      Truscott, Alan (10 July 2000). "BRIDGE; Snoopy's Finest Card Game (Trump That, Red Baron!)". The New York Times. . Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  29. "To understand the English, slip away to Tilling", Daily Telegraph Retrieved 28 August 2019
  30. Moorem, Martha (19 December 2005). "Billionaires bank on bridge to trump poker". USAToday. . Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  31. Johnson, Jared (1989). Classic Bridge Quotes. Louisville, KY: Devyn Press Inc. p. 40. ISBN 0-910791-66-X.
  32. Truscott, Alan (21 August 2004). "World's Best-Known Player? His Daughter Enjoys It Too". The New York Times. . Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  33. Morehead, Albert (13 June 1955). "Ike's Favorite Bridge Hand". Sports Illustrated. . Table of Contents. Retrieved 2015-01-10. Archived 20 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  34. Alder, Philip (18 January 2009). "Eisenhower's Other Title: Bridge Player in Chief". The New York Times. . Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  35. Walker, Karen (June 2009). "D-Day Memories of the Bridge Player in Chief". [ACBL] District 8 Advocate (Illinois, in part; online at comcast.net/~dist8adv). . Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  36. Buster Keaton Rides Again (1965). Documentary: Biography. IMDb. . 2006 clip at YouTube: "Buster playing bridge and signing autographs". Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  37. Championship Bridge with Charles Goren and Alex Dreier. 2012 clip at YouTube: "Championship Bridge with Chico Marx (1960) Part 1". Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  38. "Why Play Bridge? Thoughts about the world's greatest game". The Bridge World. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  39. Truscott, Alan (4 September 1999). "BRIDGE; Of Freddie's Bondage: A Tale of Maugham as a Kibitzer". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  40. Frey, Richard L.; Truscott, Alan F.; Cohen, Ben, eds. (1967). The Bridge Players' Encyclopedia. London: Paul Hamlyn. p. 320. OCLC 560654187.
  41. Navratilova has said, "'No matter where I go, I can always make new friends at the bridge table." She wrote the foreword to an elementary textbook in the ACBL Bridge Series, The Club Series: An Introduction to Bridge Bidding by Audrey Grant (1990; revised 1993).
      "Famous Bridge Players". Fun Trivia (funtrivia.com). Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  42. Product Details: The Club Series (revised 1993; ISBN 9780943855004. Powell's Books (powells.com). . Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  43. Dowling, Tim (22 March 2004). "Knave of Hearts". The Guardian. . Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  44. Truscott, Alan (3 July 1988). "Bridge; Can't Be Beat?". The New York Times.
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