March 2024 - 13

because I got to watch them play. I got the bug when I was
pretty young. " His mom offered to take him to lessons at
the local club. " I was lucky, living in an area in northern
New Jersey that had a lot of good bridge players and a good
bridge club. I was able to play at night. "
Sprung says it was a long road from beginner to expert.
" It was a lot of work, reading, talking to players. I benefited
from joining the players going to the bar after the game
and talking about the hands. That's how I learned: osmosis,
talking, playing with better players. "
In 1985, Sprung met his future wife, JoAnn, who was
also a top player. District 4 Director and outgoing Board
president Joann Glasson knew them both well. " Danny
was married to one of my best friends in the whole world,
JoAnn, " said Glasson. " I won my first national championship
with JoAnn, my first world medal with JoAnn. They
celebrated their wedding at my home. Danny started my
son in business. He's been a dear family friend forever.
They were a significant couple, and one of the best bridge
relationships. "
During that difficult time, Sprung's close friend and
former business partner, Brian Platnick, was working on
developing the anti-cheating program EDGAR. " We were
on the phone for hours and hours talking about EDGAR, "
remembers Sprung. " 'What footprints would a cheating
pair leave?' 'What would they get right or wrong?' He
would bounce ideas. It was of great interest to me, too. I'm
glad to see it's going forward. I hope the ACBL can make
the game more secure for people online to feel like they're
getting a fair shake. "
Glasson summed it up: " As a contributor to our game,
Danny is a star. Anything you needed Danny to do, he
would do. He is a model of ethics and deportment. "
That new card, though
There have been many controversies in the bridge
world. The new convention card, unveiled in March 2022,
was certainly one of them. While it's often said bridge
players are resistant to change, this particular change
was especially polarizing.
" When we changed the Alert procedure, we had to
change the card because the colors were wrong, " explained
Sprung. " There were things we wanted to do to
make the card better as far as more disclosure on defensive
carding and such. That was probably the biggest
other change. "
Recently, the committee announced a compromise -
both cards will stay in rotation for the foreseeable future
- an indication of Sprung's ability to listen and be flexible.
Sprung is stepping down as chair and will be replaced
JoAnn and Danny Sprung
In 2010, when the world championships in St. Petersburg
fell through, Sprung got the idea to bring the tournament
to Philadelphia. " I take credit for the idea, but I
give all the credit for the hard work to JoAnn because she
was the one on the phone with the city, with the Marriott,
with anyone you can imagine. " Even amidst all that work,
JoAnn won the Mixed Teams that year.
The Sprungs won the Rockwell Mixed Pairs in 1991
and came in second in the NABC+ Mixed Swiss Teams in
2019, playing with Anne Brenner and Dave Caprera - the
last national event Danny and JoAnn played together.
When JoAnn died in May 2022, the bridge world
mourned. Sprung admits that, without JoAnn, " nationals
are not the same from what I'm used to them being. It's
something we did together since 1990. I'm not sure where
my future of bridge lies. I still have the game's best interest
at heart. "
by Jeff Ford of Redmond WA, who has served on the
committee since 2014. " Danny has done a great job during
his tenure as chair of the Competitions and Conventions
Committee, " said Ford. " We have moved forward on modernizing
the game, with fewer restrictions on methods at
the top level, and with a new Alert procedure that more
closely matches what is and is not expected. He has also
helped us move to clearer definitions and rules so that it is
easier for players to know exactly what is allowed and for
directors to be consistent in similar situations. "
Ford praised Sprung's ability to channel the group's
ideas into productive discussions at the meetings. " People
are given every opportunity to convey their point of view,
but he prevents people from continuing to rehash the
same points. It makes us more effective as a committee.
His leadership will be missed. "
Although Sprung has stepped down as chair, he isn't
going anywhere. " I've always wanted to try to help the
game get better and see the game progress and evolve and
do what I could to give back in all the ways that I could, "
said Sprung. " My hope is to remain on the committee as
long as they'll have me. " 2
March 2024 | Bridge Bulletin |
13
March 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2024
