April 2014 - 7

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Big night

Bridge has some aspects that are
absent in other sports. I cannot think
of any other situations where a nonprofessional can compete with a
world-class pro. As a non-Life Master, I played with an advanced player,
Morrie Kleinplatz, another psychologist, and we came in second in the
Educational Foundation Pairs at the
2013 Fall NABC in Phoenix. One of the
greatest bridge players in history came
in third. What a thrill!
With appreciation to Roger Bates,
my mentor over the past few years.
DR. JEFFREY K. ZEIG
Phoenix AZ

Rich rewards

I have been an ACBL member for
more than 60 years. My wife, Helen,
and I had long been avid rubber bridge
players. At the University of Michigan
in 1947, before we were married, we
heard of something called "duplicate
bridge." One evening we trotted over to
the old Michigan League to give it a try.
It was fun, and when it got to be about
10:15, we said our good nights and
started to leave. The director informed
us kindly that we couldn't leave in the
middle of the game.
We were never bridge stars but
we played and won often enough to
become Life Masters. We played at the
local club and at sectionals and regionals, once even at an NABC. We played
against many experts, usually getting
our butts kicked, but we had our successes.
I still remember one deal from about
35 years ago at a regional. Our wild and
totally irresponsible bidding landed us
in 4♥. The opponents doubled, and we
went down three for minus 500. The
opponents were cold for slam. On the
way to the next table, Helen said, "That

Letters to the Editor

was fun. Who were those people?"
I told her we had probably just
earned a top from Barry Crane and
Hermine Baron.
Helen died in 2009, and I am rapidly
approaching 90. As I look back, I shall
always be grateful for all that bridge
has given to me and all that it has
meant to me. It gave us a host of good
friends and satisfied our competitive
instincts. More important, it taught us
to think.
My thanks to bridge and bridge players for some great times during the
past 60 years. I won't be playing much
more bridge down here, but St. Peter
has promised to seat me North when I
get upstairs.
BILL STURTZ
Albert Lea MN

ZT fan

In the five years that I have been
an ACBL club director, I have probably run 1000 games at my club. I have
started every single game by saying,
"Have fun and play nice." My players
know that they cannot start playing
until I say that. If there is ever a confrontation at the table and the players
get rude, I strongly say, "Play nice."
It has really improved the attitude of
players at my club. I think it is great
that the ACBL started the "Play Nice"
campaign.
PAM ANDERSON
Boynton Beach FL

Remembrance

Allan Cokin, who died Jan. 1, was
passionate about life and bridge. He
was a highly accomplished player and
teacher, and more recently he was
recognized as a world-class theorist
and coach. It is fitting that the team he
coached for many years won the World

Transnational Open Teams in Bali last
fall, with Mark Gordon as captain.
Allan was born and raised in Providence RI, the son of the late Louis
Cokin and Elise Cokin Broming. He
graduated from Cornell University
with a degree in English. Earlier in
his life, he was a golf pro at a country
club. He owned a bridge club in Rhode
Island and taught at his club. He moved
to Florida in his 30s to be closer to his
mother.
In Florida, Allan played bridge
professionally, coached and taught the
game. He was interested in family life,
especially his stepchildren, who he
helped raise.
He was an extremely bright, wellread person with broad interests
(sports, movies, books). He had a
passion for Boston-area sports teams,
particularly the Red Sox, and he had a
collection of books and movies to rival
any.
Allan always pushed others, particularly his students, to be the best they
could be. He had a brilliant mind - and
not just for bridge. He was analytical
and philosophical. Cokin had a strong
sense of social consciousness and
would help others behind the scenes
without the need for public thanks or
acknowledgment.
LEE BUKSTEL
Boca Raton FL

Odd one

Recently at a local duplicate, board
No. 13 was something I have never seen
in more than 50 years of playing bridge.
Letters to the editor are welcome by regular mail and email.
Brevity is considered a virtue, as is subject matter with relevance
to a majority of ACBL members. Unsigned letters are not
considered for publication, so please include your name and
hometown. Letters may be edited. All letters will receive a
response. Email editor@acbl.org.

April 2014 Bridge Bulletin

7
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2014
