Ira Rubin (1930 – February 6, 2013) was an American professional

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two Team game, competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each othe ...

player. Rubin attended the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...

and later

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. Rubin lived in Fair Lawn and resided in nearby Paramus for 35 years. Rubin learned to play bridge as a boy in the 1930s, from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-speaking refugees at Lake Placid, which he visited with his mother, who was not a player. At age nine, he and friends made up

bidding convention A bridge convention is an agreement about an artificial or a set of related artificial calls. Calls made during the auction phase of a contract bridge game convey information about the player's card holdings. Calls may be "Contract bridge glossary ...

s. He started to play tournament bridge when he was in high school, and in his thirties became a full-time player, which he was able to pursue because of his wife's income from her occupation in speech pathology. Known as "the Beast" for his intense style of playing, he invented several bidding systems in the game of bridge. He won 23 contract bridge titles, including the

Bermuda Bowl The Bermuda Bowl is a biennial contract bridge world championship for national . It is contested every odd-numbered year under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), alongside the Venice Cup (women), the d'Orsi Senior Bowl and the Wu ...

in 1976. Rubin died, aged 82, survived by three children and four grandchildren. He is buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Fairview, Bergen County, New Jersey. Rubin was inducted into the

ACBL Hall of Fame This list is a compilation of contract bridge players, writers, administrators and personalities who have been recognized for their skills, achievements or contributions to the game as identified by various specific sources. People recognized by ...

in 2000.

Bridge accomplishments

Honors

* ACBL Hall of Fame, 2000"Induction by Year"
. ''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-16.

Awards

Fishbein Trophy The Fishbein Trophy is awarded to the player who wins the greatest number of masterpoints at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championships, North American Bridge Championship (NABC). History The Fishbein Tr ...

(2) 1959, 1962 * Herman Trophy (1) 1970

Wins

(1) 1976 World Team Championship Winners
/ref> *

North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual contract bridge, bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November fo ...

(19) ** von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs (1) 1962 **

Wernher Open Pairs The Wernher Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championships, North American Bridge Championship (NABC). Typically starting on the Tuesday of the NABC, the Wer ...

(3) 1958, 1961, 1962 **

Blue Ribbon Pairs The Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs (or simply the Blue Ribbon Pairs) is a national bridge championship held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The event is restricted to those that have wo ...

(1) 1970 ** Open Pairs (1928-1962) (1) 1961 ** Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (1) 1983 ** Vanderbilt (2) 1965, 1966 **

Reisinger The Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Reisinger is a board-a-match event. History The event is contested for the Reisinger Trophy ( ...

(5) 1969, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979 ** Spingold (5) 1956, 1959, 1966, 1979, 1985

Runners-up

(2) 1966, 1977 *

** von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs (3) 1954, 1955, 1963 **

(1) 1955 ** Truscott Senior Swiss Teams (1) 2004 ** Vanderbilt (4) 1968, 1969, 1971, 1981 **

Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams The Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). It is an open four session board-a-match event with two qualifying sessions and two ...

(2) 1976, 1980 **

Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match The Mixed Board-a-Match Teams is a bridge competition held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). From 2010 the event is officially the Freeman Mixed Board-a-Match Teams, as it is contested ...

(1) 1957 **

(1) 1965 ** Spingold (2) 1957, 1969

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubin, Ira 1930 births 2013 deaths American contract bridge players Bermuda Bowl players The Bronx High School of Science alumni New York University alumni People from Fair Lawn, New Jersey People from Paramus, New Jersey 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews Burials at Mount Moriah Cemetery (Fairview, New Jersey)