Philip Hal Sims (November 8, 1886 – February 26, 1949) 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.
[ In 1932 he was ranked by Shepard Barclay, bridge commentator of the '']New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
'', the second best player in the US during the preceding year.[ Registration and login required for the entire article.] (Barclay ranked Sims's regular partner Willard Karn first, the other two members of his Four Horsemen team third and fourth.)
According to his obituary in ''The New York Times'', Sims was "a colorful person and a sportsman who excelled in almost whatever intellectual or athletic competition he pursued." Beside bridge and golf it mentioned "tennis, backgammon, billiards, chemin-de-fer and racing". He stood about 6 feet, 4 inches, and weighed about 300 pounds.[
]
Life
P. Hal Sims was born in Selma, Alabama, on November 8, 1886. He worked in Chicago and New York before World War I, when he was shot down on duty with the Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
. Sims met the aviator Dorothy Rice (divorced, formerly Dorothy Rice Peirce)[ at ]Roosevelt Field
Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located east-southeast of Mineola, Long Island, New York. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aerodrome, it was a training field (Hazel ...
on Long Island where he was a combat flight instructor for the United States.[
''The New York Times'' reported on October 16, 1917, that the ]aviatrix
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
Dorothy Rice Peirce "seeks divorce; ... alleges non-support and cruelty".[ She was not a great player but she became a famous one, both as one of her expert husband's partners and for her frequent use of "psychic" bids, or "psyches". She is known for inventing the tactic and it appears that she coined the term "psychic", at least. Sims and Sims became famous as bridge partners. They won the second annual (contract bridge) Master Mixed Teams tournament in 1930, evidently with two men as teammates. (Except 1930, the winners and runners-up apparently comprised two men and two women, presumably playing as mixed pairs.) They were runners-up in 1933. In 1930 they were also runners-up in the second annual Board-a-Match Teams for the Chicago Trophy (now the ]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 ( ...
).
In the 1930s, the Sims' resided in a home in Deal, New Jersey
Deal is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, settled by Europeans in the mid-1660s and named after an English carpenter from Deal, Kent. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 900, an increas ...
that was described in ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle
:''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently''
The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...
'' as reminiscent "of the castles of the feudal barons in medieval days".
Sims took up golf seriously in 1934, one of several games he pursued seriously at one time or another.[ He was in critical condition for several days after July 13, 1946, when he suffered a heart attack while playing on a Long Island golf course with Tony Manero during an "amateur–professional" tournament.][ He died in ]Havana, Cuba
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , on February 26, 1949, evidently from a heart attack, after collapsing while playing cards with friends in his winter home.[
One month after Sims' death, ]Albert Morehead
Albert Hodges Morehead, Jr. (August 7, 1909 – October 5, 1966) was a writer for ''The New York Times'', a bridge player, a lexicographer, and an author and editor of reference works.
Early years
Morehead was born in Flintstone, Taylor County, ...
opened a ''New York Times'' bridge column with four obituary paragraphs beginning with the observation that " ch of the color went out of tournament bridge when P. Hal Sims quit championship competition along about 1936".[ Six years earlier, however, he had covered Sims' entry in the annual mixed teams championship at the 1943 Summer Nationals. According to Morehead it was "the first time he has played in a contest conducted by the CBLsince 1934. In the summer of 1934, Sims and Oswald Jacoby had a fight on the playing floor at the national tournament at ]Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area.
As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188 . The league reprimanded them but Sims refused to accept it."[
]
Bridge
In January 1931, Sims formed the "Four Horsemen" team comprising himself, 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 ...
, Willard S. Karn, and 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 ...
. The team won the Vanderbilt and Asbury Park
Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area.
As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188 trophies in 1932 and the 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 ( ...
in 1933.
Sims was the first recipient of the ACBL Von Zedtwitz Award in 1996[ when 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 ...
.[
]
Bridge accomplishments
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 1996["Induction by Year"]
. ''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
* ABL Honorary Member of the Year 1934
Wins
* 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 ...
(7)
** Vanderbilt (2) 1931, 1932
** Asbury Park Trophy (1) 1931
** Master Mixed Teams (1) 1930
** Life Master Pairs (1) 1930
** Fall National Open Pairs The National Open Pairs was the first national bridge championship for open pairs and was held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC) as a four-session matchpoint (MP) pairs event.
History
In ...
(2) 1931, 1932
Runners-up
* 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 ...
(7)
** Vanderbilt (1) 1930
** Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
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, subdivision_name ...
(now the Reisinger) (3) 1930, 1931, 1933
** Asbury Park Trophy (1) 1930
** Master Mixed Teams (1) 1933
** Life Master Pairs (1) 1933
Publications
* ''One-over-one for Everyone (the Philip Hal Sims system)'', Madeleine Kerwin and Sims (New York: The Kerwin Co, 1932), 111 pp. – "The bidding tactics of the master players."
* , 249 pp. Expanded second edition: 1933, . , 348 pp.; a revised edition of Money Contract reflecting some changes in the author's system.
* , 69 pp.
* ''Pinochle Pointers'' (Cincinnati: US Playing Card Company, 1935), 111 pp.,
;Pamphlets
* ''Rules for five suit bridge "eagle", with instructions for five suit bidding'', Sims, Sam Fry
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictio ...
, Walter Malowan, 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 ...
(New York: 1938), 12 pp.,
References
External links
*
* (under 'Sims, Philip Hal')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, P. Hal
1886 births
1949 deaths
American contract bridge players
Contract bridge writers
People from Deal, New Jersey
People from Selma, Alabama