- Tony Priday
Richard Anthony (Tony) Priday (born 1922) is an English bridge player and journalist, who had a longstanding and successful partnership with
Claude Rodrigue . [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DEFDD1738F935A35756C0A967948260 "New York Times" article] ] He was a member of theGreat Britain teams which finished third in theBermuda Bowl in 1962, third in theWorld Team Olympiad in 1976 and which won the European Championships in 1961 (when he was partnered byAlan Truscott ) and came second in 1971.He played in the World Team Olympiad three times in all (1972, 1976 & 1980) and in the European Championships eight times between 1961 and 1979. He also won the "
Sunday Times " Invitational Pairs, a prestigious tournament which features some of the world's strongest partnerships, in 1970 partnered byNico Gardener .He has been selected 30 times for England in the
Camrose Trophy (competed for by England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland), with a record of won 24, drew 3 and lost 3. His first appearance was in 1955 and the most recent in 2002. He won the Gold Cup on seven occasions between 1964 and 1976.He was an independent assessor of the technical evidence at the
British Bridge League inquiry into the allegation of cheating byTerence Reese andBoris Schapiro at the 1965 World Championships.He is renowned for his correct demeanour at the bridge table. In a survey of 23 leading British players, 13 chose him when asked to name the "perfect gentleman/woman". [Peter Hasenson (ed), "British Bridge Almanack", 77 Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-9549241-0-X, pp158-165.]
In 1983, he took part in a televised match arranged by the
BBC between teams representing Britain and theUnited States . The British team was Priday, Rodrigue, Nicola Gardener andPat Davies . The US team wasNeil Silverman ,Matthew Granovetter ,Jacqui Mitchell andGail Moss . The British team won by 32 international match points over 78 deals in seven sessions. The match subsequently formed the basis of a book, in which Priday was described as follows: "He is tall, grey-haired, distinguished and impeccably dressed... He is also amusing, polite and might appear ripe to be mugged at the Bridge table... Beneath the velvet lurks a mind of iron..." [Jeremy James,Jeremy Flint and Derek Rimington: "Grand Slam", published by "Country Life", 1983, ISBN 0 600 36878 5, p7.]He has been non-playing captain of many England and Great Britain teams over a period of almost forty years, including those in:
* the Bermuda Bowl in 1987 when the British team finished second;
* two World Team Olympiads (1988 & 1996);
* the Women's World Team Olympiad in 1960;
* four European Teams Championships (1969, 1985, 1987 & 1997).He was the bridge correspondent of the "
Sunday Telegraph " from the newspaper's launch in 1961 until 1997. He was made a Life Member of theEnglish Bridge Union (EBU) in 1997 and is its Vice-President and a former Vice-Chairman. He is a former Chairman of theBritish Bridge League .Life outside bridge
He attended
Winchester College , and then joined theKing's Royal Rifle Corps , serving duringWorld War Two and achieving the rank of Major. In 1947, he joined the family timber business, Sydney Priday & Snewin Ltd. He became Managing Director in 1968. He retired from the firm in 2001.In 1966, he married Jane Juan, herself a noted bridge player (d. 1994). He remarried in 1995.
Notes
References
* [http://www.ebu.co.uk/general/biographies/players/tonypriday.htm Potted biography]
*Peter Hasenson (ed), "British Bridge Almanack", 77 Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-9549241-0-X, p154.
* [http://www.haroldschogger.com/tony_priday.htm Profile]
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