Ralph Katz (born 1957) 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. Katz is from

Burr Ridge, Illinois Burr Ridge (formerly Harvester) is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it is among the wealthiest towns in Illinois and is locally known for its large, elegant mansions and luxury lifestyles. ...

and graduated from University of Steubenville. In 2018 he was a first-ballot selection for the ACBL Hall of Fame. Domestically, he has won 23

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 ...

and the Open Team Trials seven times. Internationally, he has many top finishes, highlighted by a win in the 2009

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 ...

. He has three times been the runner-up in world championships (the 2010

Rosenblum Cup Rosenblum Cup is an Open Teams event held every four years as part of the World Bridge Championships. The event was added to the world championships in New Orleans in 1978 to commemorate Julius Rosenblum, who served as president of the World Bridge ...

, the 2007

and the 1990

World Open Pairs Championship The World Open Pairs Championship is a contract bridge competition initiated in 1962 and held as part of the World Bridge Series Championships every four years. Open to all pairs without any quota restrictions on nationality, the championship is wi ...

) and also has a bronze medal from the 2000 World Bridge Teams Olympiad.Player Master Point History
WBF Master Points Katz is a Grand Life Master 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 ...

with over 27,000

masterpoints Masterpoints or master points are points awarded by bridge organizations to individuals for success in competitive bridge tournaments run under their auspices. Generally, recipients must be members in good standing of the issuing organization. At t ...

and a World Grand Master of the

World Bridge Federation The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the international governing body of contract bridge. The WBF is responsible for world championship competitions, most of which are conducted at a few multi-event meets on a four-year cycle. The most prestigiou ...

. Katz, who was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, lived in

Squirrel Hill Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated a ...

(a large residential neighborhood in the east end of

) and was raised in

Steubenville Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city's name is deri ...

, first started to play bridge when he was 16.Bridge tourney players face dual challenges
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette A sports enthusiast, the competitive side of bridge drew Katz to the game. Katz's wife,

Martha Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא‎) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness to ...

, is a former World Junior Teams champion (then known as Martha Benson). Both she and their son, Sam, are former winners of ACBL King or Queen of Bridge award.

Bridge accomplishments

Awards

* ACBL Player of the Year 2001 *

Fishbein Trophy The Fishbein Trophy is awarded to the player who wins the greatest number of masterpoints at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). History The Fishbein Trophy was donated by the ACBL in memo ...

1981, 2001

Wins

(1) 2009 *

(25) ** Vanderbilt (5) 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2017 **

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 ...

(3) 1981, 2001, 2002 **

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 ( ...

(2) 2000, 2009, 2021 ** Open Board-a-Match Teams (3) 2002, 2003, 2006 **

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 ...

(1) 2001 ** North American Men's Swiss Teams (1) 1984 ** Master Mixed Teams (1) 1981 ** Life Master Pairs (2) 1979, 2022 ** Life Master Open Pairs (1) 2008 ** Open Pairs (1) 1986 ** Open Pairs I (2) 1996, 2003 ** IMP Pairs (1) 1999 ** Baze Senior KO (1) 2016 * United States Bridge Championships (7) ** Open Team Trials (7) 2000, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2018

Runners-up

(1) 2010 *

(1) 2007 *

World Open Pairs The World Open Pairs Championship is a contract bridge competition initiated in 1962 and held as part of the World Bridge Series Championships every four years. Open to all pairs without any quota restrictions on nationality, the championship is wi ...

(1) 1990 *

(17) **

(6) 1987, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2014 **

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 ...

(1) 1986 ** Open Board-a-Match Teams (2) 2001, 2012 ** North American Swiss Teams (1) 1979 ** Open Swiss Teams (3) 2008, 2015, 2018 ** Mixed Board-a-Match (1) 1997 ** Life Master Pairs (4) 1989, 2001, 2003, 2016 ** IMP Pairs (1) 2006 ** Baze Senior KO (1) 2017 ** Vanderbilt (3) 2012, 2018, 2019 * United States Bridge Championships (2) ** Open Team Trials (2) 1989, 1999

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Ralph 1957 births American contract bridge players Bermuda Bowl players Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Franciscan University of Steubenville alumni People from Burr Ridge, Illinois People from Pittsburgh