Michael Theodore Gottlieb (November 28, 1900 – April 8, 1980) was 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, an original member of the Four Aces team established by

David Burnstine David Burnstine (May 5 1900 – August 26, 1965) was a leading tournament contract bridge player of the 1930s. He changed his name to David Bruce after he retired from competition in 1939. Burnstine was born in New York City and regularly played ...

in 1935. Gottlieb is recognized by 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) as Life Master #9, one of ten named in 1936. He retired from tournament bridge that year.

Biography

He was born on November 28, 1900 in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

to Herman Gottlieb and Jennie Berger.He was born on November 28, 1900 under the name "Michael Gottleib" according to his birth certificate, but his United States passport application uses November 30, 1900 and "Michael Theodore Gottlieb". The application was approved on April 26, 1924. Gottlieb won 13 United States Bridge Association championship tournaments from 1929 to 1935. He also played for the Culbertson team, as one partner of

Ely Culbertson Elie Almon Culbertson (July 22, 1891 – December 27, 1955), known as Ely Culbertson, was an American contract bridge entrepreneur and personality dominant during the 1930s. He played a major role in the popularization of the new game and was wide ...

, during the 1931–32 Culbertson–Lenz match. He and

Theodore Lightner Theodore Alexander "Teddy" Lightner (14 September 1893 – November 1981) was an American bridge player. He developed the Lightner double, a bridge bidding convention. Lightner was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and moved to Chicago and later ...

were partners in the Culbertson–Beasley match for the Schwab Cup, 1933 in London (see photo). Gottlieb and Schenken toured Europe in 1935 as a pair playing bridge for money. Some, including ACBL, call the Four Aces the "first official world champions" based on their 1935 victory, back at home, "against a French foursome representing themselves as the European champion team". : Note. The

European Bridge League The European Bridge League is a confederation of National Bridge Federations (NBFs) that organize the card game of contract bridge in European nations. In turn the EBL organizes bridge competition at the European level. It is a member of the Europe ...

, established in 1947, recognizes the International Bridge League championships contested in Europe from 1932 to 1939, of which ''six'' Frenchmen including

Pierre Albarran Pierre Albarran (18 May 1893 – 24 February 1960) was a French auction and contract bridge player and theorist, and a tennis player. It has been reported that he was born in the West Indies, and also in Chaville, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He d ...

won the 1935 rendition. Exceptionally, Americans were invited to participate in 1937, two teams from the US did so. The dual tournaments for open and women teams, contested in Budapest and both won by Austria (both as defending champions), are usually called the first world championships. One 1935 press photograph, as presented by the seller of a print at eBay, calls Gottlieb "captain of the US Bridge team". "At the end of 1936, he retired from competition to devote his time to business interests in California and Arizona." In a humorous March 1937 magazine article, "Should We Abolish Bridge? Yessir!",

Silas Bent Silas Bent IV (born May 9, 1882, in Millersburg, Kentucky – d. July 30, 1945 in Greenwich, Connecticut), son of Silas Bent III and Ann Elizabeth (Tyler) Bent was an American journalist, author, and lecturer. He spent nearly three decades as ...

portrayed Gottlieb as ousted by the Aces from a position of general leadership. : These four had been as inseparable as the Musketeers in Dumas' immortal story 'The Three Musketeers''">The_Three_Musketeers.html" ;"title="'The Three Musketeers">'The Three Musketeers'' They had developed their own bidding system and had published a book together. But the ''Athos'' of their group ventured to develop "certain unsound bidding theories", so that ''Porthos'', ''Aramis'', and ''D'Artagnan'' combined to depose him; and they did it with the severity of a Soviet casting a Bukharin into outer darkness. Gottlieb returned to tournament play in 1975 and won the open pairs at a regional meet in California. Gottlieb was a Hillsborough, California, resident when he died of cancer at

Peninsula Hospital Peninsula Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, formerly known as Rockaway Beach Hospital and Peninsula General Hospital, was a community hospital in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens, New York. PHC, founded in 1908, which opened on April 30, ...

Burlingame, California Burlingame () is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame and is known for its numerous eucalyp ...

on April 8, 1980. He was survived by his wife, formerly Grayce McMahon, and two daughters.

Publications

As a member of the Four Aces, Gottlieb was a co-author of their official works. Some library and bookseller records show them published by Four Aces Bridge Studio or by The Four Aces, Inc. There was one important book. * ''The Four Aces System of Contract Bridge'', by

Oswald Jacoby Oswald "Ozzie", "Jake" Jacoby (December 8, 1902 – June 27, 1984) was an American contract bridge player and author, considered one of the greatest bridge players of all time and a key innovator in the game, having helped popularize widely used bi ...

, Burnstine, Michael T. Gottlieb, and

Howard Schenken Howard Schenken (September 28, 1903 – February 20, 1979) was an American bridge player, writer, and long-time syndicated bridge columnist. He was from New York City. He won three Bermuda Bowl titles, and set several North American records. Most r ...

, 302 pp. (New York: Four Aces, 1935) ; (NY: Random House, 1935) During 1935 they also produced at least a ''Teacher's outline'', a ''Pocket outline'', and a "Transcript of lectures" that are in library catalogs. See David Burnstine, Publications.

Honors

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 ...

, von Zedtwitz Award, 1999"von Zedtwitz Award"
Foundation for the Preservation and Advancement of Bridge (fpabridge.org).

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Retrieved 2014-12-21.

Notes

References

External links