Waldemar von Zedtwitz

Waldemar K. von Zedtwitz (May 8, 1896 – October 5, 1984)[1][2] was a German-born American bridge player and administrator.

Life

Von Zedtwitz was born in Berlin, Germany; his mother was from Louisville Kentucky and his father was of the minor nobility of Saxony. He was educated at Berlin and Bern, and later served in the German cavalry during World War I. He became a naturalized American citizen.[2]

He was a lexicographer and linguist.[1]

Von Zedtwitz was a keen backgammon player, winning a major tournament at age 82. He lived for 47 years in New York City before relocating to Hawaii in 1977. He died in Hawaii in 1984.[2]

He was friends with Harold Vanderbilt, the inventor of contract bridge, and became an early and enthusiastic competitor and promoter of the game, including a tour of Europe.[2]

Von Zedtwitz was 1932 president of the American Bridge League, one of the organizations whose merger established the American Contract Bridge League in 1937. The ACBL credits him with saving it by his emergency service as president in 1948 and 1949.[3] He was a founder of the World Bridge Federation.[2]

Von Zedtwitz was named to its hall of fame by The Bridge World in 1966, which brought the number of members to nine. They were made founding members of the ACBL Hall of Fame in 1995.[4][5][lower-alpha 1]

Bridge accomplishments

Honors

• ACBL Hall of Fame, 1966[4][lower-alpha 1]

Wins

• North American Bridge Championships (20)
  • Master Individual (1) 1936 [6]
  • von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs (1) 1930 [7]
  • Wernher Open Pairs (1) 1946 [8]
  • Fall National Open Pairs (2) 1928, 1937 [9]
  • Vanderbilt (3) 1930, 1932, 1940 [10]
  • Barclay Trophy (1) 1948
  • Spingold (1) 1930 [11]
  • Masters Team of 4 (1) 1937 [11]
  • Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match (4) 1940, 1942, 1945, 1965 [12]
  • Reisinger (2) 1932, 1945 [13]
  • Spingold (3) 1941, 1947, 1953 [14]

Runners-up

• North American Bridge Championships
  • von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs (2) 1933, 1939 [7]
  • Wernher Open Pairs (2) 1938, 1953 [8]
  • Fall National Open Pairs (3) 1933, 1942, 1955 [9]
  • Vanderbilt (6) 1937, 1938, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1960 [10]
  • Spingold (1) 1933 [11]
  • Masters Team of 4 (1) 1936 [11]
  • Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1952 [15]
  • Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match (3) 1933, 1935, 1956 [12]
  • Reisinger (7) 1930, 1933, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1964 [13]
  • Spingold (5) 1940, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1963 [14]

See also

• John Lancaster Spalding

Notes

1. The Bridge World monthly magazine, established by Ely Culbertson in 1929, named nine members of its bridge hall of fame including Culbertson from 1964 to 1966, but it never named another. Almost thirty years later, the ACBL established its hall of fame with the Bridge World nine as founding members. It named eight new members in 1995 and has inducted others annually since then.[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3]

References

1. Francis, Henry G.; Truscott, Alan F.; Francis, Dorthy A., eds. (1994). The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (5th ed.). Memphis, TN: American Contract Bridge League. p. 762. ISBN 0-943855-48-9. LCCN 96188639.
2. "Waldemar Von Zedtwitz dies; Top figure in contract bridge". The New York Times. October 6, 1984. Retrieved 2014-12-04.
3. "Von Zedtwitz, Waldemar". Hall of Fame. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-04.
4. "Induction by Year". Hall of Fame. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-04.
5. Hall of Fame (top page). ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
6. "List of Previous Winners". American Contract Bridge League.
7. "von Zedtwitz LM Previous Winners" (PDF). American Contract Bridge League. 2014-06-18. p. 6. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
8. "Wernher Open Pairs Winners" (PDF). American Contract Bridge League. 2014-07-22. p. 4. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
9. "Open Pairs Previous Winners". American Contract Bridge League.
10. "Vanderbilt Previous Winners" (PDF). American Contract Bridge League. 2014-03-24. p. 6. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
11. "List of Previous Winners" (PDF). American Contract Bridge League. 2014-07-21. p. 12. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
12. "Mixed BAM Previous Winners" (PDF). American Contract Bridge League. 2014-07-24. p. 14. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
13. "Reisinger Winners" (PDF). American Contract Bridge League. 2013-12-06. p. 6. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
14. "Spingold Previous Winners" (PDF). American Contract Bridge League. 2014-07-21. p. 12. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
15. "Mitchell BAM Winners" (PDF). American Contract Bridge League. 2013-12-01. p. 8. Retrieved 2014-10-17.

External links

• Citation at the ACBL Hall of Fame
• "International record for Waldemar von Zedtwitz". World Bridge Federation.