Fall National Open Pairs

The National Open Pairs was the first national bridge championship for open pairs and was held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC) as a four-session matchpoint (MP) pairs event.

History

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Inaugurated in 1928 and contested for the Cavendish Trophy, the event lost its national rating after the 1962 NABCs being displaced by the Blue Ribbons Pairs event, renamed the Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs in 1999. The Open Pairs carried on as a secondary event[1] at fall NABCs until 1971 when it was discontinued.

Winners

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Two Open Pairs champions successfully defended that title: Willard Karn–P. Hal Sims in 1932 and Helen Sobel–Margaret Wagar in 1948. The last winner of the Open Pairs as a premier event, B. Jay BeckerDorothy Hayden in 1962, also won the first Blue Ribbon Pairs in 1963. No other partnership won the Open Pairs twice.

Jane and Lewis M. Jaeger won the Open Pairs as a married couple in 1945; they were also the first married couple to become Life Masters.

Since Sobel and Wagar won in 1947 and 1948, no pair of women has won either the Fall National Open Pairs to 1962 or the Blue Ribbon Pairs from 1963. Mary Jane Farell and Marilyn Johnson alone won the equally prestigious Life Master Pairs as partners, in 1978.

National Open Pairs, 1928 to 1962
Year Winners Runners-up
 1928  Theodore Lightner, Waldemar von Zedtwitz Ely Culbertson, Josephine Culbertson
1929 1/2. William McKenney, Ralph Richards
1/2. Hortense Evans, Mrs. Sidney Lovell
1930 Louise W. Bright, P. S. Germain B. Foster, Ann W. Loftus
1931 Willard Karn, P. Hal Sims Olga Hilliard, Louis H. Watson
1932 Willard Karn, P. Hal Sims Oswald Jacoby, Louis H. Watson
1933 Charles A. Hall, Richard M. Wildberg Sam Fry, Waldemar von Zedtwitz
1934 Charles Lochridge, Johnny Rau Harry Fishbein, Herman Goldberg
1935 Edward Hymes, Oswald Jacoby Paul D. Parcells, Charles Rilling
1936 Walter Jacobs, Ralph Kempner Allyne Paris, John R. Smith
1937   A. Mitchell Barnes, Waldemar von Zedtwitz   Phil Abramsohn, Harry Fishbein
1938 Frank E. Bubna, Mollie Funk Sonny Moyse, Helen Sobel
1939 Walter Jacobs, Albert Weiss Phil Abramsohn, Morrie Elis
1940 Charles Goren, Helen Sobel Henry Chanin, Harry Fishbein
1941 Sidney Silodor, Sally Young Phil Abramsohn, Harry Fishbein
1942 Alvin Roth, Tobias Stone   Harry Fishbein, Waldemar von Zedtwitz  
1943 Ruth Goldberg, Edith Seligman Ned Drucker, Milton Moss
1944 Ambrose Casner, Ralph Hirschberg Aaron Frank, Arthur S. Goldsmith
1945 Jane Jaeger, Lewis M. Jaeger Bill Levin, Leo Roet
1946 B. Jay Becker, Sidney Silodor David C. Carter, Frances Carter
1947 Helen Sobel, Margaret Wagar Sam Fry, Ruth Sherman
1948 Helen Sobel, Margaret Wagar Peter Leventritt, Edson Wood
1949 Gardner E. Goldsmith, Charles Whitebrook B. Jay Becker, Simon Becker
1950 Mark Kelliher, Jack Kushner Leo Roet, Edson Wood
1951 Arthur Glatt, Albert Weiss Richard Kahn, Peter Leventritt
1952 Israel Cohen, Vic D. Zeve Paula Bacher, Leo Roet
1953 Byron Greenberg, Harold Rockaway David C. Carter, Curtis Smith
1954 George Heath, Paul Hodge F. Ayres Bombeck, David C. Carter
1955 Milton Q. Ellenby, Emmanuel Hochfeld Barbara Brier, Waldemar von Zedtwitz
1956 Ben Fain, Paul Hodge Norman Kay, Charles J. Solomon
1957 Lew Mathe, Edward O. Taylor Paul Allinger, Sidney Lazard
1958 John Fisher, Emma Jean Hawes Al Roth, Tobias Stone
1959 Morton Rubinow, Sam Stayman William Grieve, Emmanuel Hochfeld
1960 Oswald Jacoby, Curtis Smith Simon Becker, Eugene Davidson
1961 Phil Feldesman, Ira Rubin Jack Blair, Robert Stucker
1962 B. Jay Becker, Dorothy Hayden Eddie Kantar, Marshall Miles
succeeded by the Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ A secondary event is one held at a national tournament concurrently with a championship event. They are open to players eliminated from the major events and to new players, are usually two sessions long and carry a regional rating.

Sources

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  • Francis, Henry G.; Truscott, Alan F.; Francis, Dorthy A., eds. (2001). The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (6th ed.). Memphis, TN: American Contract Bridge League. ISBN 0-943855-44-6. OCLC 49606900.
  • "Search Results: Open Pairs (1928–1962)". ACBL. Visit "NABC Winners"; select a Discontinued NABC.
  • "Search Results: Open Pairs (1963–1971)". ACBL. Visit NABC Winners; select a Discontinued NABC. [dead link]