David Burnstine (May 5[citation needed] 1900 – August 26, 1965) was a leading tournament
contract bridge player of the 1930s.[1][2] He changed his name to David Bruce after he retired from competition in 1939.[1]
Burnstine was born in New York City and regularly played at the Contract Bridge Club of New York. He was a member of the
Four Horsemen team captained by
P. Hal Sims, which he left to create his own teams, first the Bid-Rite team and later the
Four Aces. The Four Aces dominated tournament play in the later half of the 1930s.[3] Burnstine became
American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) Life Master #1 at the age of 36.[a]
Burnstine moved to Los Angeles in 1939, changed his name to David Bruce, and retired from regular tournament play.[1] He died in 1965 and was inducted into the
ACBL Hall of Fame as David Bruce in 1997.[4] Thus he was the second recipient (after Sims) of the von Zedtwitz Award, a name for Hall of Fame recognition of players long out of the limelight.[5]
Playing record
Burnstine won one unofficial world championship in 1935 as the Four Aces defeated a team from France[2] during a December fortnight in New York City.
He "won 26 national titles by 1936, the year the rank of Life Master was established":[1]
Vanderbilt tournament victories came as a member of the Four Horsemen team in 1931 and the Four Aces team in 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938;
"Transcript of lectures on the four aces system: at the Four Aces Bridge Teacher's Convention, Hotel Pennsylvania, New York City, May 28, 1935" (New York, Four Aces Bridge Studio, 1935), by Burnstine, et al. – 31-page typescript
OCLC666777170
^Burnstine and nine others were named Life Masters by the American Bridge League in 1936. The ACBL was established by mergers of competing organizations, completed late in 1937, and it continued the ABL Life Master title and
master points program.[19]
References
^
abcd"Bruce, David". Hall of Fame. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
"von Zedtwitz Award" (FPAB, 2011) presents the identical text under the identical heading and portrait image. Quote: "Player biographies are up to date as of the year of induction" (1997).
^
ab
"Bridge: Death of Burnstine Recalls Achievements 30 Years Ago". Alan Truscott. The New York Times. August 30, 1965. Page 22. Quote: "death of David Bruce in Los Angeles last Thursday".
David Burnstine (May 5[citation needed] 1900 – August 26, 1965) was a leading tournament
contract bridge player of the 1930s.[1][2] He changed his name to David Bruce after he retired from competition in 1939.[1]
Burnstine was born in New York City and regularly played at the Contract Bridge Club of New York. He was a member of the
Four Horsemen team captained by
P. Hal Sims, which he left to create his own teams, first the Bid-Rite team and later the
Four Aces. The Four Aces dominated tournament play in the later half of the 1930s.[3] Burnstine became
American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) Life Master #1 at the age of 36.[a]
Burnstine moved to Los Angeles in 1939, changed his name to David Bruce, and retired from regular tournament play.[1] He died in 1965 and was inducted into the
ACBL Hall of Fame as David Bruce in 1997.[4] Thus he was the second recipient (after Sims) of the von Zedtwitz Award, a name for Hall of Fame recognition of players long out of the limelight.[5]
Playing record
Burnstine won one unofficial world championship in 1935 as the Four Aces defeated a team from France[2] during a December fortnight in New York City.
He "won 26 national titles by 1936, the year the rank of Life Master was established":[1]
Vanderbilt tournament victories came as a member of the Four Horsemen team in 1931 and the Four Aces team in 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938;
"Transcript of lectures on the four aces system: at the Four Aces Bridge Teacher's Convention, Hotel Pennsylvania, New York City, May 28, 1935" (New York, Four Aces Bridge Studio, 1935), by Burnstine, et al. – 31-page typescript
OCLC666777170
^Burnstine and nine others were named Life Masters by the American Bridge League in 1936. The ACBL was established by mergers of competing organizations, completed late in 1937, and it continued the ABL Life Master title and
master points program.[19]
References
^
abcd"Bruce, David". Hall of Fame. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
"von Zedtwitz Award" (FPAB, 2011) presents the identical text under the identical heading and portrait image. Quote: "Player biographies are up to date as of the year of induction" (1997).
^
ab
"Bridge: Death of Burnstine Recalls Achievements 30 Years Ago". Alan Truscott. The New York Times. August 30, 1965. Page 22. Quote: "death of David Bruce in Los Angeles last Thursday".