Diary of a Bridge Pro #15

WBS Signs  TGB 

Wilsonovich Bridge Services to Sponsor 
Resumption of Hamman - Glubok Partnership 


Possible National Team Game Affiliation to Follow 

Yesterday, March 29, was an epic day for my new bridge agency, WBS. Mid-afternoon I put a call through to Bob Hamman in Dallas. Most of our readers will be familiar with Bob, but some may not be - for those who are unaware of his place at the pinnacle of bridge history, he is perhaps the winningest bridge player of all time, certainly of the last fifty years. 
Competing in tournaments with a wide range of partners and teammates (including yours truly) he has won dozens of nationals championships - more than just about anyone else ever.\ 
As a money player, from the early nineteen-sixties, playing at the Cavendish Club in Los Angeles, until the high-stakes New York and London games finally expired in the early 2000's, Bob was won of only five players to have a consistent substantive win rate in those games - the other four were me, Lev, Zia, and Michael Rosenberg. 
***** 
Yesterday I called him at his office in Dallas - 214 860 3701 - you can too, feel free. "Bob Hamman here," he answered, 
"Brian Glubok, Bob, how are you?" 
"Brian!" he chirped. "How ya doin'?"
"Good, Bob, good - I didn't even get to say "hi" to you in Louisville, I played in that national pair game that you played with David (Caprera), Feigenbaum and I were sitting about thirty feet from you." 
"You didn't miss much. What's going on?" 
"Well I figured I'd take a stab at calling you, I've got to check in with you periodically and I never know for sure when I'll reach you. I started to write a blog, whatever that is, I need to let you know that I've already written you into one of the columns." 
"That's fine...." 
I was gathering a head of steam, so I just ran with my riff: 
"Yes, usually I ask people if it's okay if I quote them by name but in this case what you said was so great I figure I have to run it whether or not you authorize me, you may not even remember, we were talking by phone last autumn when you got back from Morocco". 
"What did I say?" he might have wondered. 
"I was babbling at you how with the lockdown over it was like 1946, and you and I were like Ted Williams and Stan Musial," I reminded him - I wasn't ringing any bells, I suspected, and I just continued to run with it. 
For those of you who are unfamiliar with either of those two athletes: Those were two of the leading baseball players of the 1930's and 1940's - outfielders and great batters, Williams with the Boston Red Sox and Musial with the St. Louis Cardinals.

There's a story about Ted batting on the last day of the season, starting the day with a .400 average and putting that at risk by playing both games of that day's double-header (and connecting for base hits at a staggering six-for-eight clip). 
If you're curious about it, ask Bob when you see him - he's familiar with the Williams saga, no doubt. 
Or better yet, ask Bob about his preferred bidding methods: He told me last time we spoke that he likes to play 1C - 1S - 2D as a three way bid, I believe - one of these three hand types: 
A) Big, balanced (18-19 HCP) 
B) Classic reverse (Primary Clubs, Secondary Diamonds, 5-4 or often 6-4, occasionally longer) 
C) Max Club One Suiter
“Now over that, responder bids Two Spades to show he fits diamonds,” Bob continued. At least I think that’s what he said - Bob’s a great theorist, but sometimes his partners have a little trouble retaining the method. 
***** 
"Yeah, I was all excited, and I said, 'Bob, it's like 1946!" and you sneered back, 'Feels more like 1984 to me!" 
***** 
For a glimpse into what a big deal baseball was in that era (and for decades afterwards), consider either of these two books: 
1947 (Halberstam) 
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/08/books/books-of-the-times-yanks-vs-sox-in-summer-of-49.h tml 
Boys of Summer (Roger Kahn): 
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/obituaries/roger-kahn-dead.html 
***** 
I'm putting the band back together:

Closing Thought, to paraphrase Jake and Elwood in that video clip above: 
Who among us can say that we were ever happier, ever more our most perfect self, than when we were playing tournament bridge with friends for teammates in a situation where it was deemed to matter. Against Nick Nickell in the Spingold in Las Vegas in 2015, for example. That’s all it takes, that we all buy into that societal construct: It has to be deemed to matter. 
I'm putting the band back together. You in?
***** 
​
For the entire "Think" segment / musical number from "The Blues Brothers," click here: