Easley Rutland Blackwood (June 25, 1903 – March 27, 1992) was an American

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions o ...

player and writer, best known for the

Blackwood convention In the partnership card game contract bridge, the Blackwood convention is a bidding convention developed by Easley Blackwood in 1933 and still widely used in the modern game. Its purpose is to enable the partnership to explore its possession of ace ...

used in bridge

bidding Bidding is an offer (often competitive) to set a price tag by an individual or business for a product or service ''or'' a demand that something be done. Bidding is used to determine the cost or value of something. Bidding can be performed by ...

Biography

Blackwood was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, but lived most of his life in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. From 1968 to 1971 he was executive secretary of the

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). He was inducted 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. His son is

Easley Blackwood Jr. Easley R. Blackwood Jr. (April 21, 1933 – January 22, 2023) was an American professor of music, concert pianist, composer (sometimes using unusual tunings), and the author of books on music theory, including his research into the properties of ...

, a noted musician.

Publications

;Books * ''Bridge Humanics: How to Play People as well as the Cards'' (Indianapolis: Droke House, 1949); UK title, 1951, ''The Human Element in Bridge'' ame subtitle* ''Blackwood on Bidding: Dynamic Point Count'' (

Bobbs-Merrill The Bobbs-Merrill Company was a book publisher located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Company history The company began in 1850 October 3 when Samuel Merrill bought an Indianapolis bookstore and entered the publishing business. After his death in 1 ...

, 1956) * ''Blackwood on Slams'' (

Prentice-Hall Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari B ...

, 1970); later title, ''Bidding Slams with Blackwood'' * ''Spite & Malice: The Complete Rules and Strategy'' (Cornerstone Library, 1970) * ''Contract Bridge Complete'' by Ernest W. Rovere (Simon & Schuster

Fireside Books Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, 1975) – contributor * ''How You Can Play Winning Bridge, with Blackwood'' (Los Angeles:

Pinnacle Books Kensington Publishing Corp. is an American, New York-based publishing house founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius (1923–2011)Grimes, William"Walter Zacharius, Romance Publisher, Dies at 87,"''New York Times'' (MARCH 7, 2011). and Roberta Bender ...

, 1977) * ''Play of the Hand with Blackwood'' (Los Angeles: Corwin Books, 1978) * ''Winning Bridge with Blackwood'', Blackwood and Derek Rimington (London: Robert Hale, 1983) – revised, British edition of ''How You Can Play ...'', 1977 * ''The Complete Book of Opening Leads'' (Devyn, 1983) * ''Card Play Fundamentals'', Blackwood and

Keith Hanson Keith Francis Hanson (born April 26, 1957 in Ada, Minnesota and raised in Bemidji, Minnesota) is a retired Americans, American professional ice hockey Defenceman (ice hockey), defenseman who played 25 games for the Calgary Flames of the National ...

(Devyn, 1987) ;Pamphlets * ''The Blackwood Convention'' (Louisville, KY: Devyn Press, 1981) – Championship bridge series, no. 2 * ''Introduction to Declarer Play'' (Devyn, 1989) – Future champions' bridge series, no. 8

Bridge accomplishments

Awards and honors

* International Bridge Press Association Personality of the Year, 1984 * ACBL Hall of Fame, 1995"Induction by Year"
. ''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-11-10.

References

External links