Helen Sobel Smith

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Helen Sobel Smith (1910-1969)^[1] was an American contract bridge player, perhaps the best of all time.

In her youth, Helen was a chorus girl. She appeared in several stage shows, the best known being Animal Crackers with the Marx Brothers. Another chorus girl taught her bridge: needless to say, she took to the game like a duck to water. From that moment on, there was no doubt about her future. She won 35 national events, and was the first woman to play in the Bermuda Bowl. She was a long-time partner of Charles Goren. In a tribute Eddie Kaplan said:

"Helen's style was frisky and aggressive – so aggressive that some of her male partners were intimidated. These guys felt they were playing in the Mixed Pairs and... they were the girl!"

[edit] References

^ The ACBL Official Encyclopedia of Bridge lists her as Helen Martin Smith (Mrs Stanley), but the ACBL Hall of Fame lists her as Helen Sobel-Smith; in practice she was universally known as Helen Sobel. The title here could be redirected from Smith to Sobel, especially as there is another, lesser, Helen Smith.