Bridge rules Bridge strategy & bidding Bridge championships

Whitehead Women's Pairs

The Whitehead Women's Pairs bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC).

The Whitehead Women's Pairs is a four-session matchpoint (MP) pairs event with two qualifying and two final sessions. The event typically starts on the second Thursday of the NABC and is restricted to female players.

History

The Whitehead Women’s Pairs is an event for partnerships consisting of two female players. There are two qualifying sessions, followed by two final sessions. The contest was held annually at the Summer North American Bridge Championship until 1962. That was changed the following year and subsequently contested at the Spring North American Bridge Championship.

At stake is the Whitehead Trophy, donated in 1930 by Wilbur C. Whitehead of New York, a great bridge authority and a member of the team that won the Vanderbilt Cup in 1928, the first year it was in play. Whitehead (1866-1931) was president of the Simplex Automobile Company, but bridge held such a fascination for him that he retired from business in 1910 to devote his life to bridge. He was the inventor of many bidding and play conventions, the quick-trick table of card values, the Whitehead system of requirements for original bids and responses and the Whitehead table of preferential leads. Whitehead was instrumental in standardizing procedures in auction bridge and later in contract bridge.

Winners

No Women's Pairs champion has defended its title in more than 50 years, but four early winners did so on seven occasions: 1939, 1942-43, 1948, 1956-58. The four-time winners from 1955 to 1958 were Kay Rhodes and Margaret Wagar.

Whitehead Women's Pairs, 1930 to present
Year Winners Runners-up
1930  Olive Peterson, Maud Zontlein Josephine Culbertson, Elinor Murdoch
1931 Vivi Hanson, Elinor Murdoch Mary Clement, Olga Hilliard
1932 Mrs. Jay S. Jones, Olive Peterson Florence Fitch, Maud S. Zontlein
1933 Doris Fuller, Mrs. Courtand Smith Marie Black, Mary Clement
1934 Helen Bonwit, Helen White Ruth Sherman, Mrs. Thomas Stern
1935 Bertine Teichman, Mable Ulbrich Doris Fuller, Olive Peterson
1936 Mrs. Jay S. Jones, Sally Young Mable Ervin, Doris Fuller
1937 Mable Ervin, Doris Fuller Martha Lemon, Mrs. Martin R. West
1938 Helen Sobel, Sally Young Phyllis Gardner, Dorothy Roberts
1939 Helen Sobel, Sally Young Doris Fuller, Millicent Tansill
1940 Edith Atkinson, Mrs. John Waidlich Estelle Drescher, Gussie Planco
1941 Mae P. Rosen, Edith Seligman Ruth Horn, Gussie Planco
1942 Mae P. Rosen, Edith Seligman Helen Bonwit, Mrs. D. P. Hanson
1943 Mae P. Rosen, Edith Seligman Olga Hilliard, Evelyn Lebhar
1944 Ruth Sherman, Margaret Wagar Paula Bacher, Kay Rhodes
1945 Peggy Golder, Olive Peterson Ruth Sherman, Margaret Wagar
1946 Edith Seligman, Sally Young Anne Burnstein, Mrs. G. Rosenbaum
1947 Gratian Goldstein, Josephine Gutman Ruth Sherman, Helen Sobel
1948 Gratian Goldstein, Josephine Gutman Mildred Cunningham, Mrs. Harry Mason Smith
1949 Kay Rhodes, Ruth Sherman   Mildred Cunningham, Mrs. Harry Mason Smith  
1950 Mrs. John Kelly, Dorothy Thompson Reba Buck, Mrs. George P. Ryan
1951 Alwina M. Dunphy, Mrs. Edward Minear Mrs. Frank Fooshe, Mrs. Henry C. Wolfe
1952 Shirley Fairchild, Elaine Lee Mildred Betzler, Mrs. Michael Hoffman
1953   Mrs. Harold P. Swearingen, Barbara Weiner   Gretchen Feldstein, Gratian Goldstein
1954 Margaret Alcorn, Sally Neely Paula Levin, Mrs. Max Ritter
1955 Kay Rhodes, Margaret Wagar Mrs. Carl I. Conklin, Paula Nevins
1956 Kay Rhodes, Margaret Wagar Wynne Ecker, Mrs. P. Halbestadt
1957 Kay Rhodes, Margaret Wagar Edith Kemp, Terry Michaels
1958 Kay Rhodes, Margaret Wagar Mrs. N.L. Cassibry, Ann Smith
1959 Betty Adler, Dorothy Hayden Agnes Gordon, Sylvia Schwartz
1960 Mary Jane Farell, Peggy Solomon Mabel Mahoney, Betty Ann Welch
1961 Agnes Gordon, Betty Haddad Mrs. Seymour Keith, Rita Seamon
1962 Clarice Holt, Mrs. Greeley Warner Kay Carter, Mrs. G.M. Sharum
After 1962 this event was moved by the ACBL from its summer to its spring NABC meet.
1963  Mrs. K. L. Sargent, Mrs. Ray Tobin Garner McDaniel, Terry Michaels
1964 Margaret Alcorn, Lucille Patterson Ruth Ballantyne, Mrs. Lloyd Scott
1965 Nancy Gruver, Sue Sachs Alicia Kempner, Helen Sobel
1966 Virginia Heckel, Edith Kemp Garner McDaniel, Terry Michaels
1967 Garner McDaniel, Terry Michaels Hermine Baron, Marilyn Johnson
1968 Hermine Baron, Rhoda Walsh 2/3. Emma Jean Hawes, Dorothy Hayden
2/3. Gloria Cohen, Belle Kauffman
1969 Gale Clarke, Gloria Noszka Sallie Johnson, Bee Schenken
1970 Robin Klar, Tina Rockaway Jacqui Mitchell, Gail Moss
1971 Amalya Kearse, Jacqui Mitchell Barbara Brier, Betsey Wolff
1972 Kerri Davis, Rhoda Walsh Gail Moss, Judi Solodar
1973 Ann Economidy, Vivian Williamson Mary Anderson, Pamela Eckard
1974 Pat Leary, Jan Stansby Jacqui Mitchell, Gail Moss
1975 Jacqui Mitchell, Gail Moss Hermine Baron, Carol Greenhut
1976 Gail Schaab, Barbara Staton   Emma Jean Hawes, Dorothy Truscott  
1977 Jacqui Mitchell, Gail Moss Hermine Baron, Beverly Rosenberg
1978 Babs Charney, Flo Rotman Edith Kemp, Barbara Rappaport
1979 Anne Burnstein, Edith Kemp Ann Roberts, Genne Winter
1980 Mildred Boyce, Barbara Norwood Hermine Baron, Beverly Rosenberg
1981   Emma Jean Hawes, Dorothy Truscott   Roberta Epstein, Rozanne Marel
1982 Hermine Baron, Beverly Rosenberg Nancy Alpaugh, Betsey Wolff
1983 Evelyn Levitt, Jo Morse Lynne Pollenz, Sue Picus
1984 Judy Tucker, Jacqui Mitchell Mildred Breed, Barbara Norwood
1985 Dale Dermer, JoAnne Caplan Nadine Wood, Robin Taylor
1986 Edith Freilich, Nancy Gruver Peggy Sutherlin, Sharon Osberg
1987 Tobi Deutsch, Kay Schulle Carlyn Steiner, Janet Daling
1988 Sally Wheeler, Georgiana Gates Jan Martel, Dorothy Truscott
1989 Nadine Wood, Jeanne Elkner Janice Seamon, Rita Seamon
1990 Tobi Deutsch, June Deutsch Carol Sanders, Betty Ann Kennedy
1991 Leslie Paryzer, Nancy Widman Claire Tornay, Kathie Walvick
1992 Cheri Bjerkan, Janice Seamon Carol Sanders, Betty Ann Kennedy
1993 Carol Sanders, Betty Ann Kennedy Shawn Womack, Jan Cohen
1994 Corinne Kirkham, Ann Kluewer Bernace DeYoung, Ellasue Chaitt
1995 Lila Perlstein, Juanita Chambers Ayako Amano, Miho Sekizawa
1996 Nancy Widman, Leslie Paryzer Susan Wexler, Margie Gwozdzinsky
1997 Susan Wexler, Margie Gwozdzinsky Suzy Burger, Barbara Sion
1998 Judi Radin, Valerie Westheimer Carol Simon, Kitty Munson
1999 Harriet Eaton, Ellen Crawford Mildred Breed, Shawn Quinn
2000 Joan Stein, Eunice Rosen Marilyn Hemenway, Barbara Fellows
2001 Judi Radin, Sylvia Moss Tobi Sokolow, Janice Seamon-Molson
2002 Cheri Bjerkan, Sue Weinstein Kerri Sanborn, Karen McCallum
2003 Joan Eaton, Candace Griffey Connie Goldberg, JoAnn Sprung
2004 Jacqui Mitchell, Amalya Kearse Cynthia Balderson, Carole Miner
2005 Gail Greenberg, Laurie Vogel Helen Abbott, Polly Dunn
2006 Sylvia Moss, Judi Radin Cathy Strauch, Margie Gwozdzinsky
2007 Irina Ladyzhensky, Kamla Chawla Valerie Westheimer, Migry Zur Campanile
2008 Lynne Feldman, Chris Benson Diane Walker, Mickie Kivel
2009 Lisa Berkowitz, Joann Glasson Hjördis Eythorsdottir, Valerie Westheimer
2010 Suzy Burger, Linda Lewis Victoria Gromova, Tatiana Ponomareva
2011 Marjorie Michelin, Diana Schuld Sylvia Moss, Judi Radin
2012 Georgiana Gates, Patricia Norman Linda Lewis, Joann Glasson
2013 Joanne Weingold, Jan Assini Irina Ladyzhensky, Kamla Chawla
2014 Ran Jingrong, Wang Wenfei Kitty Cooper, Lynne Feldman

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