Margery Lee Golder Solomon (''née'' Mastbaum; August 14, 1908 – March 4, 1995), 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 from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. As Peggy Golder in 1942, she became ACBL Life Master number 33, the third woman to achieve the rank after Sally Young and

Helen Sobel Helen Elizabeth Sobel Smith (''née'' Martin; May 22, 1909 – September 11, 1969) was an American bridge player. She is said to have been the "greatest woman bridge player of all time" and "may well have been the most brilliant card player of ...

."First 100 Life Masters"
''Glossary and Library'' Bridge Guys (bridgeguys.com). Retrieved 2014-12-10.

Life

Solomon was the daughter of Etta (née Wedell) and

Jules Mastbaum Jules Ephraim Mastbaum (July 7, 1872 – December 8, 1926) was a Philadelphia movie theater magnate and philanthropist. He donated the Rodin Museum and its collection to the city of Philadelphia. His daughter, Peggy Solomon, was a bridge champion ...

, a Philadelphia real estate investor who specialized in movie theaters and the philanthropist whose estate established that city's

Rodin Museum The Rodin Museum is an art museum located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that contains one of the largest collections of sculptor Auguste Rodin's works outside Paris. Opened in 1929, the museum is administered by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. T ...

. Both parents played bridge. In 1930 she married Benjamin M. Golder, who was a U.S. Congressman from Philadelphia (1925–1933); he would be 1946 president 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) and die in office. Peggy Golder started bridge lessons "shortly before World War II".

Charles Goren Charles Henry Goren (March 4, 1901 – April 3, 1991) was an American bridge player and writer who significantly developed and popularized the game. He was the leading American bridge personality in the 1950s and 1960s – or 1940s and 1950s, as " ...

was her second teacher and Charles J. Solomon, another star player from Philadelphia became her mentor; they married in 1948. Charles Solomon would be president of the ACBL in 1958, the year the World Bridge Federation was established, and second president of the WBF (1964–68). He died in 1975. Solomon died at age 86, at home in

Elkins Park Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue roughly from Ce ...

, on March 4, 1995. According to a daughter the cause was

pulmonary fibrosis Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory failu ...

. She was survived by a sister, two daughters, Joan Golder Ash and Norma Golder Brunswick, eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Career

Solomon played in one world championship tournament, the fourth quadrennial

World Team Olympiad The World Team Olympiad was a contract bridge meet organized by the World Bridge Federation every four years from 1960 to 2004. Its main events were world championships for national teams, always including one open and one restricted to women ("O ...

in 1972. She was a member of the 6-person USA women team that finished third behind Italy and South Africa. With

Gail Moss Gail Harte Greenberg (born 1938) is a professional American bridge player from New York City. She has won major tournaments as Gail Shane, Gail Moss, and Gail Moss Greenberg. Sometime prior to the 2014 European and World meets (summer and October), ...

instead of Solomon the team would win bronze and gold medals in 1976 and 1980. In ACBL competition Solomon won one national-level tournament in the open category, the 1944 Chicago Board-a-Match Teams (now the North America-level

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 ( ...

). She won the premier national championship for women pairs (

Whitehead Women's Pairs The Whitehead Women's Pairs bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Whitehead Women's Pairs is a four-session matchpoint (MP) pairs event with two qualifying ...

) in 1945 with

Olive Peterson Olive Stone Avery Peterson (January 20, 1898 – February 10, 1965)''Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014''. Social Security Administration. was an American bridge player and teacher from St. Davids, Pennsylvania, on the Philadelphia Main Line. ...

and in 1960 with Mary Jane Farrell. She won the analogous tournament for women teams five times from 1942 to 1970 and that for mixed teams three times.

Books

* ''Bridge for Women'', Solomon and others (Doubleday, 1967), 221 pp.,

Bridge accomplishments

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 ...

(12) **

(2) 1945, 1960 ** Wagar Women's Knockout Teams (5) 1942, 1957, 1964, 1968, 1970 ** Marcus Cup (1) 1967 **

Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match The Mixed Board-a-Match Teams is a bridge competition 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, Mexico, and Bermuda. It ...

(3) 1949, 1950, 1959 **

(1) 1944

Runners-up

(15) **

Hilliard Mixed Pairs The Hilliard Mixed Pairs national bridge championship was last held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). History This was the original national mixed pairs event. It was contested at the ...

(1) 1943 **

Rockwell Mixed Pairs The Rockwell Mixed Pairs is a national bridge championship held regularly at the Spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Rockwell Trophy, donated by Helen Rockwell in 1946, is presented to the w ...

(1) 1961 ** Smith Life Master Women's Pairs (3) 1965, 1966, 1967 ** Wagar Women's Knockout Teams (5) 1948, 1953, 1954, 1961, 1967 **

(2) 1939, 1940 **

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) 1944 **

(1) 1953 ** Vanderbilt (1) 1954

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Peggy 1908 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American Jews American contract bridge players Contract bridge writers Writers from Philadelphia Mastbaum family