Martin (Marty) Fleisher (born October 12, 1958) 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,

employee benefit Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

s attorney, manager of investments in life insurance policies and

investment advisor A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...

Bridge career

Having first learned bridge at the age of eight by observing his parents and uncle, Fleisher became the youngest

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) Life Master from the New York metropolitan area in 1976 at age 17. At the same time, his team reached the final of the

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 ...

knockout championship, making him the youngest player ever to reach the finals of a North American team bridge championship, a record he still holds. ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' reported this accomplishment and featured Fleisher in its Faces in the Crowd section. Less than two years later he won the Intercollegiate regional bridge championship by the largest margin ever recorded in a pairs championship. Fleisher has won eight national bridge championships and placed second in nine others. He and

Eric Rodwell Eric Victor Rodwell (born May 1, 1957) is an American professional bridge player. He has won the Bermuda Bowl representing the United States five times and is one of ten players who have won the triple crown of bridge: the Bermuda Bowl, the World ...

won the 2000

Cavendish Invitational The Cavendish Invitational is the largest money bridge tournament in the world. In 2012 it moved from Las Vegas to Monaco and from May to October. From 1975 to 2011, first in New York City and later in Las Vegas, it ran from Friday to Sunday on Mot ...

, the world's strongest contest for money prizes. His team won the United States Bridge Championship for open teams to gain entry into the 2011

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 ...

(as one of two US entries) where they finished 4th. His team placed second in the same event in 2013, 2017 and 2019 to qualify to play in the Bermuda Bowls held in those years. They finished 9th in 2013 and 12th in 2019, but won the Gold Medal in August 2017 in Lyon, France. As a result, he became a World Grandmaster, which is the highest title awarded by the World Bridge Federation. Fleisher was named the ACBL Player of the Year for 2013, awarded annually to the member who earns the most platinum masterpoints in the calendar year.

Personal

Fleisher grew up in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, th ...

and graduated from

Teaneck High School , motto_translation = To enrich the mind and improve the character , fundingtype = Public , schooltype = high school , grades = 9– 12 , district = Teaneck Public Schools , enrollment = 1,239 (as of 2021–22) , faculty = ...

in 1976.Staff
"Bridge:; Jersey-Westchester Team Loses Grand National Final"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', August 2, 1976. Accessed September 13, 2011. "In one case that came very early, for Martin Fleisher of Teaneck, NJ, is 17 years old and has just completed high school." He attended

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

, and

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Andrea Bierstein. He is the half-brother of the American comic book writer

Michael Fleisher Michael Lawrence Fleisher (November 1, 1942 — February 2, 2018) was an Americans, American writer known for his DC Comics of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly for the characters Spectre (DC Comics character), Spectre and Jonah Hex. Biography ...

Bridge accomplishments

Wins

* World Championships (1) ** Bermuda Bowl 2017 * United States Bridge Championships (3) ** Open Team Trials 2010 ** Open Team Trials (second qualifier) 2013 ** Open Team Trials (second qualifier) 2017 ** Open Team Trials (second qualifier) 2019 *

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 ...

(8) **

Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams The Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championships, North American Bridge Championship (NABC). It is an open four session board-a-match event ...

(1) 2018 **

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 ...

(1) 2016 **

Norman Kay Platinum Pairs The Norman Kay Platinum Pairs national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Norman Kay Platinum Pairs is a six-session open-pairs event with two qualifying ...

(1) 2013 ** Vanderbilt Knockout Teams (2) 2011, 2018 **

Roth Open Swiss Teams The Roth Open Swiss Teams is a national bridge championship Swiss Teams event held at the summer American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexic ...

(1) 2010 ** Mixed Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2005 ** North American Swiss Teams (1) 2004 * Other notable wins: ** Cavendish Invitational Pairs (1) 2000 ** Intercollegiate Bridge Championship (1) 1977

Runners-up

(9) ** Vanderbilt (2) 2003, 2010 **

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 ...

2014 **

2013 **

(1) 1976 ** Life Master Pairs (2) 2006, 2012 ** Open Pairs I (1) 2003 **

Mixed Pairs Mixed is the past tense of ''mix''. Mixed may refer to: * Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category), an ethnicity category that has been used by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics since the 1991 Census * ''Mixed'' (album), a co ...

(1) 2004 * United States Bridge Championships (2) ** Open Team Trials 2009 ** Open Team Trials 2016

Publications

*''Individual Retirement Account Answer Book'', 19th edition,

Aspen Publishers Wolters Kluwer N.V. () is a Dutch information services company. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands (Global) and Philadelphia, United States (corporate). Wolters Kluwer in its current form was founded in 1987 with a ...

, 2012, .

References

External links

* . Confirmed 2011-07-11. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleisher, Martin 1958 births Living people American contract bridge players Bermuda Bowl players Swarthmore College alumni New York University School of Law alumni Teaneck High School alumni