June 2014 - 67

It's	all	true:	Claude is for real
In	July	2006,	Claude	Vogel	became	a	
lot	more	famous	than	he	ever	thought	
he	might,	and	the	big	change	in	his	life	
was	not	of	his	doing.	What	happened	
was	the	debut	of	George's	World,	one	
of	the	Bridge	Bulletin's	most	popular	
columns.
On	the	cover	of	the	July	2006	
magazine,	caricatures	of	column	
author	George	Jacobs	and	Vogel	were	
seen running through an airport. The
headline	read:	"George's	World	-	It's	all	
true."	Since	Jacobs	started	the	monthly	
column,	Vogel	and	his	idiosyncrasies	
have	been	featured	dozens	of	times.
"Most	of	what	he	writes	is	true,"	acknowledges	Vogel,	a	former	math	professor	and	longtime	partner	of	Jacobs.	
The duo attended the Spring NABC
in	Dallas	to	play	in	the	Baldwin	North	
American	Pairs,	Flight	A.	They	were	in	
contention	early	but	fell	to	sixth.
The	curious	thing	about	the	Vogel-
Jacobs	relationship	is	that	many	readers	of	the	Bridge	Bulletin	have	long	assumed	that	Vogel	is	a	fictional	creation	
meant	to	add	humor	to	Jacobs'	column.
Jacobs	recalls	playing	with	Vogel	in	
a	North	American	Pairs	qualifier	about	
five	years	ago.	As	they	moved	from	
table	to	table,	players	told	Jacobs	how	
much	they	like	his	column.	Some	of	
them	asked,	"Is	Claude	a	real	person?"
Pointing	to	his	partner,	Jacobs	said,	
"Why	don't	you	ask	him?"
Vogel	doesn't	mind	the	stories,	many	
of	which	have	highlighted	his	famous	
coat	with	its	unusual	contents.	"It's	all	
good	fun,"	he	says.	Jacobs'	lighthearted	
jabs	don't	bother	him,	he	adds.	"Most	of	
the	time,"	he	says,	"I	don't	read	it."	
Vogel	has	lived	all	of	his	life	in	
Chicago,	studying	math	at	the	Illinois	
Institute	of	Technology	and	earning	a	
master's	degree	in	the	subject	from	the	
University	of	Illinois.
It	was	during	his	grad	school	days,	
about	1964,	that	bridge	entered	his	life.
At	Illinois	he	saw	some	classmates	
playing.	"I	found	it	exciting,"	he	says,	

"and	I	knew	I	could	learn	it."
His	game	improved	after	he	bought	
books	by	Alfred	Sheinwold,	Howard	
Schenken and Fred Karpin, and he
became	a	regular	winner	at	club	games	
in	Chicago.	His	first	tournament	was	
the	1965	Summer	NABC	in	Chicago.	At	
the	time,	there	were	minimum	masterpoint	requirements	for	some	events.	
Vogel	didn't	have	enough	masterpoints,	
but	he	entered	the	event	now	known	

BY BRENT MANLEY

as	the	von	Zedtwitz	Life	Master	Pairs	
anyway,	finishing	in	the	top	10.
"I	always	wanted	to	play	against	the	
best,"	he	says.
Vogel	taught	math	at	Central	YMCA	
Community	College	in	Chicago	for	
17	years	before	it	closed.	He	has	been	
playing	bridge	for	the	most	part	since.
He	met	Jacobs	at	a	bridge	club	in	
Chicago	about	35	years	ago.	They	became	a	regular	partnership	and	hit	the	
tournament	trail	for	a	while,	achieving	
great	success	and	building	up	memories	that	have	made	it	into	Jacobs'	
Bridge	Bulletin	column.
One	of	them	involved	Vogel's	purchase	of	airplane	tickets	to	Cincinnati	
for	a	tournament	that	was	actually	
in	Cleveland.	"I	knew	the	city	started	
with	a	C,"	he	says.
"Claude	is	easily	the	funniest	person	
I've	ever	met,"	says	Jacobs.	"He	has	a	
great	sense	of	humor	and	makes	you	
laugh.	I	love	the	guy."	
At	the	same	time,	Jacobs	adds,	
"Claude	is	a	real	serious	student	of	
the	game.	He	loves	bridge	more	than	
anyone	I've	ever	met."
Jacobs	says	he	was	disappointed	that	
he	and	Vogel	weren't	able	to	sustain	
their	early	success	in	the	NAP	event.	"I	
would	have	given	anything	to	win	with	
Claude,"	he	says.	"It	would	have	been	
very	special."
Jacobs	had	a	scare	last	summer	
when	Vogel	suffered	a	massive	infection	caused	by	a	kidney	stone.	He	
spent	five	days	in	a	coma	and	was	on	
antibiotics	for	weeks	after	leaving	the	
hospital.	Jacobs	wrote	about	his	friend	
in	the	column	but	in	an	uncharacteristically serious tone.
Fortunately,	the	episode	ended	well	
and	Vogel	is	feeling	fine,	drinking	lots	
of	water	to	fend	off	potential	future	
kidney stones.
When	it	was	clear	Vogel	was	over	his	
health	issues,	Jacobs	wrote	fondly	of	
his	friend.	"He	grows	on	you,"	Jacobs	
said.	"He's	just	Claude."	
	◾
June 2014 Bridge Bulletin

67
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2014
