TRIVIA FROM THE SEVENTIES …

This morning at breakfast, I was discussing with Bobby MEMPHIS MOJO’s intriguing article on Charles Schulz, world renown creator of Peanuts, Charlie Brown, et al.  I had no idea Schulz had any involvement with bridge (other than what I had just read) until Bobby smiled, perked up and related the following story:

The U. S. had not won a world championship since 1954 and here it was 1970 and the rising Dallas Aces were flying to Stockholm to represent the U. S.   The Aces were the brainchild of Ira Corn, influential Texas businessman who conceived the idea of the first professional bridge team in the world.  By coincidence, one of Corn’s public relations people was an intelligent, aggressive woman named Jean Carpenter (who earlier had been married to Charles Schulz).   Jean arranged for the team to stop over in New York en route to Sweden for some very exciting national fanfare.   The team, clad in their traditional orange jackets were seated at a bridge table in the background of the screen as Ira, big as life (and he was indeed no lightweight), was being interviewed by none other than Barbara Walters on The Today Show.    It was quite exciting to have bridge recognized on National TV.

Fate (or luck) prevailed and the Dallas Aces (Billy Eisenberg/Bobby Goldman; Bob Hamman/Mike Lawrence; and Jim Jacoby/Bobby Wolff) miraculously returned home with the Gold.   It made such banner headlines that two of the winning team members (Jimmy and Bobby) were invited to fly directly to the nation’s capitol to appear on a celebrated televised Interview Talk Show which had been arranged by Jim Wood, quite active and well known in Washington bridge circles who knew the ‘right’ people.

There were two separate half-hour segments to the show — but no doubt the triumphant Aces had to take second billing — as the other guest was none other than Christine Jorgensen.   Yes … The Christine Jorgensen.   For those of you too young to remember, she (?) was the first person to have experienced and publicized “sex reassignment surgery” as Wikipedia adeptly describes it.   (By the way, Bobby met and spoke with her and added she was positively charming)!