SOME EGREGIOUS BRIDGE HAPPENINGS OVER THE YEARS!

1.   In first place, WITH NO CLOSE SECOND, must be the infamous ‘OH, SHIT’ case which made the U. S. the laughing stock of the entire bridge world.   Basically, Bobby’s team got screwed in spades by the worst ruling in history — partially due to the involvement of Co-Chairs, Doug Heron and Bob Gookin, Director Henry Cukoff and a few other peripherally involved who were known enemies of Bobby Wolff — all of whom should have immediately recused themselves from being involved in the decision.   You can read about it in The Lone Wolff (TLW) in great detail.  This one is a real doozy!

The remainder, not in any special order, but nevertheless still appalling, are the following:

2.  The firing of Bob Rosen, as Recorder, a position Bobby Wolff created out of whole cloth in 1985 to educate the bridge public, right the wrongs and even on occasion challenge stealthy cheating and other untoward behavior.  For the initial three years, Bobby worked overtime performing this difficult task having several assistant recorders available to help him, but it wasn’t until sometime later that Bob Rosen, from Florida, came onto the scene.  Bob turned out to be (and according to Bobby’s own admission) perhaps twice as effective as Bobby had been. Rosen had a genuine love for the game; was both bold and subtle when necessary and at the appropriate time; confronted evil with no backing off; and always was fair as well as engagingly conscientious with legal principles.  But, after Bobby stepped down in Bob’s favor, Rosen was fired by Cecil Cook for taking a position against Howard Piltch in the famous Ace of Spades Case — obviously a personal vendetta to protect the "honor" of said offender Piltch.   Later, Richard Colker and others followed as Recorders but the ACBL was (and is possibly still) afraid of scandals and law suits, so they down pedal what is necessary to maintain the integrity of the game.    One of the ACBL personnel who is now retired once said to Bobby … "Don’t get so upset — it’s only a game."   Truthfully, bridge is not even a game worth playing unless the time honored active ethics and unusual nature of partnership communication which is indigenous to bridge are executed properly.

3.  The "Losing Team Wins’ (again in TLW) where Germany wrongly (and consciously) won the match against Canada when a technical scoring error was discovered in the middle of the night, LONG BEFORE the next match was to begin (and easily correctable).  However, the politics and forces arranged for it not to be overturned although there were rampant believable rumors about the witnessed haughtiness of the team that were declared winners but since the details cannot be substantiated, we will leave it at that.

4.  My own "An Appeal to Remember" (Chapter 20 of TLW), admittedly not an earth shattering piece of history, took the cake for inefficiency, complacency, bias and ignorance of the law, etc.  However, it is still worthy of making this list if only to show what did happen to relative unsuspecting and non-famous bridge players and it could happen to others of you as well.   STAND UP AND PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS!

This is what caused the brouhaha:    I opened 1S. Lefty with 4/3/4/2 and 13 high card points (plus very good spot cards) studied an enormous amount of time and finally decided to pass (and threw his right hand up in despair because he couldn’t come up with a bid).   My partner, Jane was busily preparing the slips for the round and paid no attention to the histrionics before passing while East rose to the occasion after about 40 seconds of wrestling with his conscience (and losing) and balanced with Q2  J104  J43  Q10752 — eking out a 2C call.   You had to be dumb, deaf and blind to have missed their dog and pony act!

I immediately called the director (before I saw either opponent’s hands) and he never even looked at their holdings – merely asking if there was any time irregularity.   East and West denied it and Jane admitted she was not paying it any mind.   We were told to routinely continue.  They made either +90 or +110 while most allowed South to play 1S for –50.  We lost the appeal in a pathetic pretense of a court, with Ron Gerard presiding over the committee – consisting of Bill Passell (though his wife was listed as the appeal member), Dick Budd (oft time partner of Howard Piltch), Eddie Wold, Mike Kovalchic, and Doug Daub.  Curiously, Lefty never appeared at the meeting but allowed his wealthy glib-tongued partner (owner of some minor league baseball teams) to soft soap the panel.  Not only did we lose the appeal, but were given an outrageous AWMW (AWARD WITHOUT MERIT WARNING).   I fought tooth and nail and Jane and I were so wild, we engaged an attorney and would stop short of nothing until our names were cleared.     It was not until then (fifteen months later) that I was told we couldn’t sue until we had a hearing on the AWMW before the Appeals and Charges Committee.  We had been fighting it from Day One but it took all that time to be advised of our rights according to the reigning body. A bit tardy in retrospect, don’t you think?

Jane could not be there and under doctor’s advice, I was instructed to not attend.   (In those last sixteen months I had developed high blood pressure which suddenly appeared with no warning — no doubt from the humiliation of character assassination and an insulting warning not to do it again).  NOT TO DO WHAT?   PROTECT MY RIGHTS FROM THIEVING OPPONENTS?.   Bobby represented us and we won easily (unanimously, in fact) before the A&C Committee and also when presented to the BOD it was just about unanimously vacated (with one dissenting vote).   It took 16 months off my life, believe me, but I wasn’t letting those cocky animals get away with such a miscarriage of justice.   Our AWMW was history.

However, the story doesn’t end there.   There were other miscues.   Jane and I were never read our rights prior to the hearing (not that we would have withdrawn our appeal — not on your life!); the reports in the Daily Bulletin were incorrect;  but the most interesting of all was the after-shock that the BOARD OF DIRECTORS voted that AWMW’s can no longer be challenged.   It made them look so bad, it was time to eliminate such human rights.  So, (1) If you can’t protest your innocence in an appeal; and (2) You cannot appeal an AWMW;  THEN .. (3) It leaves you no choice but to go into a court of law to seek justice.   Is this what the ACBL is all about??

Oh yes, one last thing –  Rick Beye, then CTD, accidentally on purpose omitted our case from the last Case Book to be printed live so the public could not see the embarrassing position of the Appeal Committee, although I forced them to print it on the internet along with the others.  In addition to the actual case, the Case Book includes the analyses of the reviewing panel.   Amazingly, all but one of the appeals gurus, thought we had been injured without cause and obviously were against the AWMW as well.  The Appeals Committees are in dire need of alteration, revision, revamping, etc.    Whatever they are doing — something else (anything else) would be an improvement.

5.  Another issue is ZERO TOLERANCE.  After the blog I wrote explaining what happened at our regular Las Vegas
Sectional on October 22nd entitled THE BASTARDIZATION OF BRIDGE (with several follow ups) (and still no official word from the league as of today, December 14th), I think it is time to seriously consider all the improper actions of the directing staffs and set up a ZERO TOLERANCE STRUCTURE for them as well. You know what they say about ‘what’s sauce for the goose …………………….”  They must be better trained and educated to the proper rulings in all different situations, speak with respect to the members who pay their salaries and learn to get it right every now and then. The situation we experienced over six weeks ago (with the right hand not knowing what the left was doing) was a sequel to Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors and despite several letters from Tournament Chairman, Tom Shulman; Pam Stratton, one of the victims; Bobby and myself, no one at the ACBL cared enough to want to respond.  No wonder.  What can they say?   Just another screw up!

6.  The catering of Appeal Committees to the experts is rather sickening.   Somehow, the big mahoffs always seem to win their appeal by powerful intimidation.  Often the members are such wimps and don’t want to appear stupid by challenging the top experts.  Another reason for their submission and dropping of the appeal has to do with sponsorship.  Today almost all top players are professionals.   If you were sitting on the AC (and were a pro as well), if you voted against them, what do you think your chances would be of being recommended to a sponsor if the big guys were not available.  Forget it!!!!

7.  One of the greatest indignities involves the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee listing names of mediocre paying sponsors who had been drawn to the finish line by dogsled with five others at the helm.   Thank heavens for small favors because for the first time in a while, I see no sponsors’ names, who have less than world class playing credentials, on the slate for next year.   A step in the right direction.   Finally a positive note. 

8.  Another grievance with the HOF is the presence of known bridge cheats, acknowledged by the ACBL, who adorn the list of honorees. These include people who have been brought before a Conduct and Ethics Committee, proven and judged guilty, and told to stop playing together (without the embarrassment of releasing the story to the public).  However, unlike the recent Heisman Awards,  their names still appear among the list of Bridge Immortals.   Heavens, Pete Rose who on a daily basis bet on baseball (including his home team) was an angel, compared to these lowlifes. 

A quick reference to the exalted Blue Team and the Bermuda Foot Soldiers would seem appropriate, but that is old hat and I believe everyone gets the gist.   They all fall into the same macabre category and I am still hoping for deathbed confessions from those still alive.

9.  Catering to the wealthy seems to get my dander up.   Did you know a few years ago, a rich sponsor engaged a bridge player doubling as an attorney to see if he could change the date (and locale) of one of the Trials because she and her spouse were planning to entertain at their estate and the Trials would cause a conflict.   As a result, the Trials were moved to some obscure spot, where the nearest  airport was an hour away and the farther one was an hour and a half from the site.   Consider the cab expense and inconvenience; there was one restaurant open for breakfast and lunch which closed following lunch and one adequate dinner facility on the premises within walking distance.    Therefore, rather than be held captive, you had to rent a car or find a cab (rather difficult in a tiny tourist town) to be able to locate an eatery rather than the confinement to the site.  To me the effort to change the site and dates were the height of selfishness and self aggrandizement.  Of course, since there was a Regional going on at the same time, it was wonderful for the local organizers and it brought more people to the tournament because as soon as a team got knocked out instead of changing their plane reservations,  they stayed and played in the next day’s regional event.   The fact that many people had to fly from the West Coast to Sturbridge, MA (via Hartford or Logan International) did not seem to concern the planners and the inconvenience was outweighed by accommodating the wealthy sponsor, the lawyer and the local people running the Regional.   Site selection should have zeroed in on the comfort and convenience of the Trials Contestants – no more – no less.    Once again, a  rather selfish move by many peering in from the outside.

10.  Last, but hardly least, is the pilfering of money from a dead man by either the ACBL or the EF (Educational Foundation).  Take your choice.  The victim was PETER PENDER and his total bequest was a hefty $77,500 – nothing to sneeze at.   Here is the scenario and you can judge for yourself: 

Peter was a Philadelphian before he migrated to the West Coast.   Both Norman and I were close to Peter as was Bobby.   It was no secret Peter was dying of AIDS and together with Becky Rogers, Bobby convinced Peter to ‘remember the ACBL.’    Wanting to have his name perpetuated by his friends and associates, Peter (who died in 1990) arranged two separate sums of money to be left to the ACBL/EF.   It is suspected because of the tax consequences, the money was handled by the EF — but certainly both ACBL and EF should have served as watchdogs to make sure the money was spent as Peter intended and that THE NAME OF PETER PENDER was COMMEMORATED BY HIS FRIENDS AND FANS FOR YEARS TO COME.

IT IS 20 YEARS LATER AND HERE IS THE STATUS:

(a)  THE $27,500 specifically bequeathed to the Juniors was for the purpose of having replica trophies made, inscribed and distributed every second year to the winners of the Junior Bridge Trials held at twenty-four month intervals.   The group included the six winners, the coach and captain and was to be presented to them.   It began back in 1991 and according to confirmation by CEO Jay Baum, it was honored until about 1995 leaving 15 years where it fell by the wayside.  As soon as Jay learned of the lethargy of those in charge, he had someone research the winners, have the trophies made and brought them up to date — with the promise he would make it current.   Had it not been for my prying, the $28,300 (having gathered more moss than interest in all these years) remained in the account but now some has been spent according to Peter’s intention — with two more Junior Events to be reckoned with.  I have faith Jay will follow it up.

b)  The piece de resistance is yet to come.  The $50,000 was talked about and agreed by Peter to be used for the changing of the name and the improvement of the current Vugraph renaming it the Pendergraph, keeping Peter’s name before the public.   Though he died in 1990, no record in the account is shown before 1992 as getting the project off the ground.  Why the delay?  No one can say.   Fred Gitelman, cyberspace genius, was commissioned to develop an improved program which would be called The Pendergraph.   Fred was paid, did his job and made great improvements to the project.  No one has any beef with Fred.   However, the  amounts of money and the  sources paid were astronomical.  Though, for some reason (probably the greatly successful BBO), the Pendergraph flew into cyberspace never to be heard again after about 2000.   That did not deter those who were suppose to be minding the store to use money (about $10,000 for various and sundry products from about 2002 to 2005) which had nothing to do with the vanished Pendergraph.   There is now $10,700 left (bearing in mind that the $50,000 should have accrued much interest in a twenty-year period).

Obviously, no one was there minding the store to protect Peter’s wishes and money.   According to Peter Rank, not only ACBL counsel, but a dear friend of Peter’s, when questioned about who was in charge, I learned about the money being turned over to the EF (for tax purposes stated above) but that the ACBL and EF are totally separate entities and neither has any connection with, or jurisdiction over, the other.   THEN, PRAY TELL, WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ISSUING THE ORDERS FOR THE MONEY DISBURSEMENT FOR THE VARIOUS EXPENSES????.   The EF says they paid whatever ACBL instructed them to pay out and the ACBL (via Peter Rank) denies it.  It’s the old story of pointing fingers in different directions suggesting "they went thataway!"

Meanwhile, Peter Pender did not get the bang for his buck for far less than the twenty years since the bequest.   In fairness, rather than make this a legal issue, Bobby and I would prefer that the two groups make up to Peter for the reviling joint attitudes of those designated to handle the Pendergraph, restore the balance of the money to the amount of $25,000 as the Pendergraph disappeared ten years after Peter died — but the money was going out without perpetuating his name.  

WHOMEVER IS RESPONSIBLE (and I am not naming names as I was not on the scene throughout this horrific disaster), I suggest we go back to the halfway mark (the year 2000) and restore the difference ($13,300) and set the books at the $25,000 mark.   THEN, NAME SOMETHING MEANINGFUL AFTER PETER SO THAT HIS BEQUEST WOULD BE HONORED AND HE WOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN.    It would have been an easy solution to place over the entrance to the vugraph entrance something like:   THE PENDERGRAPH THEATER FEATURING BBO.  Everyone would have gotten their due and this disgusting situation would not have gotten to this stage.

Picking a dead man’s pocket is shameful and beneath the dignity of the ACBL and EF.   Incidentally, I was referred to EF Secretary Gene Kales who generously supplied me with all the records, but did nothing more.   However, last week he wrote that he was no longer Secretary of the EF and suggested I contact Linda Mamula, his replacement.   It is one week later and I have received no reply.

Peter was wronged by the recipients.    Meanwhile everyone is looking the other way.  If satisfactory amends are not made,  I would sooner see the money go back to the residuary heirs of the Pender Estate than be used by the non-entitled holders of the remaining money (both the Juniors and The Pendergraph).

Put yourself in the shoes of either the Chairman of the Educational Foundation or the CEO of the ACBL.  Although they may not have been around at the time of the wrongdoing, they certainly have a responsibility to cut the spending, find a way to make amends, restore the misspent fund and honor Peter’s request.   Twenty years later the onus falls upon their shoulders to rectify the wrongdoing of  their predecessors.  WHAT WOULD YOU DO IN THEIR POSITION???

I’d like to have your thoughts!!!!