Martin (Marty) Fleisher (born October 12, 1958) is an American

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

player,

employee benefit Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...

s attorney, manager of investments in life insurance policies and

investment advisor A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...

Bridge career

Having first learned bridge at the age of eight by observing his parents and uncle, Fleisher became the youngest

American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. It is the largest such organization in North America having the stated mission "to promote, grow and sustain the ...

(ACBL) Life Master from the New York metropolitan area in 1976 at age 17. At the same time, his team reached the final of the

Grand National Teams The Grand National Teams (GNT) North American bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Grand National Teams is a team knockout event. The event is broken into ...

knockout championship, making him the youngest player ever to reach the finals of a North American team bridge championship, a record he still holds. ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' reported this accomplishment and featured Fleisher in its Faces in the Crowd section. Less than two years later he won the Intercollegiate regional bridge championship by the largest margin ever recorded in a pairs championship. Fleisher has won twelve national bridge championships and placed second in nine others. He and Eric Rodwell won the 2000 Cavendish Invitational, the world's strongest contest for money prizes. His team won the United States Bridge Championship for open teams in 2010 and 2024 to gain entry into the 2011

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 ...

(as one of two US entries) where they finished 4th and the 2024 World Bridge Games Wwhere as the only US entry they finished tied for 5th. His team placed second in the same event in 2013, 2017, 2019 and 2023 to qualify to play in the Bermuda Bowls held in those years. They finished 9th in 2013 and 12th in 2019, but won the Gold Medal in August 2017 in Lyon, France. As a result, he became a World Grandmaster, which is the highest title awarded by the World Bridge Federation. Fleisher was named the ACBL Player of the Year for 2013, awarded annually to the member who earns the most platinum masterpoints in the calendar year. Fleisher was inducted into the Bridge Hall of Fame in 2025.

Personal

Fleisher grew up in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. The town is know for their pancake throwing contest held ...

and graduated from

Teaneck High School Teaneck High School (known as The Castle on the Hill) is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Teaneck, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the ...

in 1976.Staff
"Bridge:; Jersey-Westchester Team Loses Grand National Final"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', August 2, 1976. Accessed September 13, 2011. "In one case that came very early, for Martin Fleisher of Teaneck, NJ, is 17 years old and has just completed high school." He attended

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

, and

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Andrea Bierstein. He is the half-brother of the American comic book writer

Michael Fleisher Michael Lawrence Fleisher (November 1, 1942 — February 2, 2018) was an American writer known for his DC Comics of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly for the characters Spectre and Jonah Hex. Biography Early life and career Fleisher was raise ...

Bridge accomplishments

Wins

* World Championships (1) ** Bermuda Bowl 2017 * United States Bridge Championships (6) ** Open Team Trials 2010 ** Open Team Trials (second qualifier) 2013 ** Open Team Trials (second qualifier) 2017 ** Open Team Trials (second qualifier) 2019 ** Open Team Trials (second qualifier) 2023 ** Open Team Trials 2024 *

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 ...

(12) **

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 ...

(1) 2018 **NABC+ Open Pairs (1) 2024 **Soloway Knockout Teams (1) 2024 ** Spingold (2) 2016, 2023 ** Norman Kay Platinum Pairs (1) 2013 ** Vanderbilt Knockout Teams (3) 2011, 2018, 2025 ** Roth Open Swiss Teams (1) 2010 ** Mixed Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2005 ** North American Swiss Teams (1) 2004 * Other notable wins: ** Cavendish Invitational Pairs (1) 2000 ** Intercollegiate Bridge Championship (1) 1977

Runners-up

(9) ** Vanderbilt (2) 2003, 2010 ** Jacoby Open Swiss Teams 2014 ** Roth Open Swiss Teams 2013 **

(1) 1976 ** Life Master Pairs (2) 2006, 2012 ** Open Pairs I (1) 2003 ** Mixed Pairs (1) 2004 * United States Bridge Championships (2) ** Open Team Trials 2009 ** Open Team Trials 2016

Publications

*''Individual Retirement Account Answer Book'', 19th edition,

Aspen Publishers Wolters Kluwer N.V. is a Dutch information services company. The company serves legal, business, tax, accounting, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and healthcare markets. Wolters Kluwer in its current form was founded in 1987 with a merger bet ...

, 2012, .

References

External links

* . Confirmed 2011-07-11. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleisher, Martin 1958 births Living people American contract bridge players Bermuda Bowl players Swarthmore College alumni New York University School of Law alumni Teaneck High School alumni