Robert S. (Bobby) Wolff (born October 14, 1932,

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Reno Case Book by Jay M. Apfelbaum, October 1998, p. 10.
/ref>) is an American

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

player, writer, and administrator. He is the only person to win world championships in five different categories. He is a graduate of Trinity University. Wolff was an original member of the Dallas Aces team, which was formed in 1968 to compete against the Italian Blue Team which was dominant at the time. The Aces were successful and won their first world championship in 1970. Wolff has won 11 world championships, over 30 North American championships, and was the president of

World Bridge Federation The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the international governing body of contract bridge. The WBF is responsible for world championship competitions, most of which are conducted at a few multi-event meets on a four-year cycle. The most prestigiou ...

(WBF) 1992–1994, and served as president of

American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. It is the largest such organization in North America having the stated mission ''"to promote, grow and sustain th ...

(ACBL) 1987. He is the author of a

tell-all An unauthorized biography is a biography written without the subject's permission or input. The term is usually restricted to biographies written within the subject's lifetime or shortly after their death; as such, it is not applied to biographi ...

on bridge chronicling 60 years on the scene, entitled ''The Lone Wolff'', published by

Master Point Press Master Point Press is a Canadian book publishing company located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It grew out of Canadian Master Point magazine (1992–1997), which was published by Ray and Linda Lee. The company began publishing books in 1994. While ...

. His column, ''The Aces on Bridge'' has been appearing daily for over 32 years, is syndicated by

United Feature Syndicate United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along wit ...

in more than 130 newspapers worldwide and is available online two weeks in arrears. Wolff lived in Dallas at the time of his induction into the

ACBL Hall of Fame This list is a compilation of contract bridge players, writers, administrators and personalities who have been recognized for their skills, achievements or contributions to the game as identified by various specific sources. People recognized by ...

in 1995.

Bridge accomplishments

Honors

* ACBL Hall of Fame, 1995"Induction by Year"
. ''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-21. * ACBL Honorary Member of the Year, 1995

Awards

Mott-Smith Trophy The Mott-Smith Trophy, named for writer and cryptographer Geoffrey Mott-Smith, is awarded to the player with the best overall individual performance in the Spring Nationals, the spring event of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North Amer ...

1973 *

Fishbein Trophy The Fishbein Trophy is awarded to the player who wins the greatest number of masterpoints at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). History The Fishbein Trophy was donated by the ACBL in memo ...

1979

Wins

Bermuda Bowl The Bermuda Bowl is a biennial contract bridge world championship for national . It is contested every odd-numbered year under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), alongside the Venice Cup (women), the d'Orsi Senior Bowl and the Wuh ...

(7) 1970, 1971, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1995 * World Open Team Olympiad (1) 1988 * World Open Pairs (1) 1974 * Olympiad Mixed Teams (1) 1972 * Senior International Cup (1) 2000 *

North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven da ...

(31) ** Vanderbilt (2) 1971, 1973 **

Spingold The Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Spingold is a knock-out team event that attracts the top contract bridge players in the world. T ...

(10) 1969, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 **

Reisinger The Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Reisinger is a board-a-match event. History The event is contested for the Reisinger Trophy ( ...

(8) 1970, 1978, 1979, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002 **

Grand National Teams The Grand National Teams (GNT) North American bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Grand National Teams is a team knockout event. The event is broken into ...

(3) 1975, 1977, 1986 ** Men's Board-a-Match Teams (4) 1968, 1972, 1973, 1988 **

Senior Knockout Teams The Baze Senior Knockout Teams national bridge championship was held at the fall American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. ...

(3) 2002, 2003, 2005 **

Blue Ribbon Pairs The Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs (or simply the Blue Ribbon Pairs) is a national bridge championship held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The event is restricted to those that have wo ...

(1) 1984 * United States Bridge Championships (16) ** Open Team Trials (12) 1969, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1979 (Dec), 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1992, 2003 ** Senior Team Trials (4) 2000, 2001, 2007, 2009 * Other notable wins: ** Pan American Invitational Open Teams (3) 1974, 1976, 1977

Runners-up

(4) 1973, 1974, 1975, 1997 * World Open Team Olympiad (3) 1972, 1980, 1992 *

(15) ** Vanderbilt (3) 1970, 1981, 1996 **

(2) 1967, 1970 **

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(now Reisinger) (1) 1964 ** Men's Board-a-Match Teams (4) 1969, 1980, 1984, 1989 **

Jacoby Open Swiss Teams The Jacoby Open Swiss Teams national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Jacoby Open Swiss Teams is a four session Swiss Teams event with two qualifying a ...

(1) 1992 **

(1) 2007 ** Life Master Pairs (2) 1960, 1968 ** Men's Pairs (1) 1976 * United States Bridge Championships (4) ** Open Team Trials (3) 1974, 1979 (Jan), 1997 ** Senior Team Trials (1) 2008 * Other notable 2nd places: ** Forbo-Krommenie Nations Cup (1) 1997 ** Sunday Times–Macallan Invitational Pairs (1) 1992 ** Cavendish Invitational Pairs (1) 1988

Publications

* ''Sacrifices'' (Louisville: Devyn Press, 1985), Championship Bridge no. 30 – pamphlet * ''Bidding Challenge: South hands'' (Devyn, 1986), 21 pp. * ''Bidding Challenge: world championship hands, set 1'', Wolff and the Aces (Devyn, 1986), 43 pp. * ''The Lone Wolff: autobiography of a bridge maverick'' (

, 2008), 287 pp., , ;Audo-video * ''Bobby Wolff's Secrets of Successful Bridge'' (Dallas, 1987)

References

External links

* * *
Aces on Bridge – Daily Columns
at BridgeBlogging – Wolff's syndicated newspaper column ''The Aces on Bridge'', two weeks in arrears * (May 2014, none yet; see WorldCat) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Bobby 1932 births American contract bridge players Contract bridge administrators Bermuda Bowl players Contract bridge writers Living people People from Dallas People from San Antonio Trinity University (Texas) alumni