- Helen Sobel Smith
Helen Sobel Smith [The ACBL Official Encyclopedia of Bridge lists her as "Helen Martin Smith" (Mrs Stanley), but the ACBL Hall of Fame lists her as "Helen Sobel-Smith"; in practice she was universally known as "Helen Sobel". The title here could be redirected from Smith to Sobel, especially as there is another, lesser, Helen Smith.] (1910 –
September 11 ,1969 ) was an American bridge player, arguably the best female player of all time.Born in
Philadelphia ,Pennsylvania , Helen was a chorus girl in her youth. She appeared in several stage shows, the best known being "Animal Crackers" with theMarx Brothers . Another chorus girl taught her bridge: she took to the game like a duck to water. From that moment on, there was no doubt about her future. She won 31North American Bridge Championships , and was the first woman to play in theBermuda Bowl . She was a long-time partner ofCharles Goren . In a tributeEdgar Kaplan said::"Helen's style was frisky and aggressive – so aggressive that some of her male partners were intimidated. These guys felt they were playing in the Mixed Pairs and... they were the girl!"Helen Sobel Smith died in a Detroit hospital at the age of 59 after a long battle with cancer.
Awards
*"McKenney Trophy" 1941, 1942, 1944
*"Fishbein Trophy " 1958Tournament record
Wins
*
North American Bridge Championships (31)
** Mixed Pairs (2) 1955, 1956
** Women's Pairs (3) 1934, 1938, 1939
** Life Master Pairs (2) 1942, 1958
** Master Mixed Teams (6) 1941, 1943, 1944, 1948, 1954, 1968
** Women's Board-a-Match Teams (7) 1935, 1936, 1939, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946
** Vanderbilt Knockout Teams (2) 1944, 1945
** Spingold Knockout Teams (5) 1944, 1947, 1951, 1956, 1960
** Chicago (now Reisinger) (4) 1941, 1943, 1950, 1957
* Other notable wins:
** Goldman Pairs (1) 1941Runner-ups
* IBL World Championship (1) 1937
*Bermuda Bowl (1) 1957
*North American Bridge Championships (28)
** Women's Pairs (2) 1947, 1965
** Life Master Pairs (1) 1953
** Master Mixed Teams (4) 1946, 1949, 1950, 1951
** Women's Board-a-Match Teams (10) 1937, 1941, 1942, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958
** Vanderbilt Knockout Teams (7) 1942, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1962
** Spingold Knockout Teams (2) 1943, 1950
** Chicago (now Reisinger) (2) 1944, 1951References
External links
* [http://www.acbl.org/about/hall-of-fame/biography.php?id=73 ACBL Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.worldbridge.org/bios/sobel.asp World Bridge Federation biography]
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