John Yocum Randolph Crawford[1] (August 4, 1915 – February 14, 1976) was an American bridge and backgammon player.

John Yocum Randolph Crawford
BornAugust 4, 1915
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
DiedFebruary 14, 1976
Manhattan
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Bridge and Backgammon Player

In bridge, he was a member of United States teams that won the first three Bermuda Bowls, or world teams championships, in 1950, 1951 and 1953; a wholly new team represented the US in 1954. In backgammon, Crawford is known as the inventor of the "Crawford rule", a regulation that restricts use of the doubling die in match play.

Life

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Of Scots descent, the younger son of Andrew Wright Crawford Sr. (1873–1929), a town planner, he was born at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and died in Manhattan aged 60. He was married to Carol Stolkin, née Ross, also a celebrated backgammon player.[2]

Books

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  • Canasta (New York: JCS Associates, 1950; London: Faber, 1951)
  • Samba, three-deck canasta (Doubleday, 1951)
  • How to be a consistent winner in the most popular card games (Doubleday, 1953); revised 1961
  • Contract bridge (Grosset & Dunlap, 1953), Crawford assisted by Fred L. Karpin
  • Calypso: how to play and win the fascinating new card game (Doubleday, 1955)
  • The backgammon book (Viking Press, 1970), Oswald Jacoby and Crawford

The latter was soon translated.

  • Das Backgammonbuch, German transl. by Jens Schmidt-Prange and Suzanne Gangloff (Munich: Keyser, 1974)
  • Le livre du backgammon, French transl. by René Orléan, 1975

Bridge accomplishments

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Honors

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Awards

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Wins

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Runners-up

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Sport: Four Other Bridge Masters". TIME. September 29, 1958. (subscription required)
  2. ^ Francis, Henry G.; Truscott, Alan F.; Francis, Dorthy A., eds. (1994). The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (5th ed.). Memphis, TN: American Contract Bridge League. ISBN 0-943855-48-9. LCCN 96188639.
  3. ^ "Induction by Year" Archived 2014-12-05 at the Wayback Machine. Hall of Fame. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  4. ^ "Crawford, John". Hall of Fame. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
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