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Ruth Therese Sherman (November 24, 1903 – April 6, 1965) was an American
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
player from New York City. In 1944 she became
ACBL Life Master ACBL may refer to: * Actor-Based Concurrent Language, a family of programming languages * Adarsh Co-operative Bank, in India * American Contract Bridge League, a bridge membership organization in North America * Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League ...
number 45, the sixth woman to achieve the rank."First 100 Life Masters"
''Glossary and Library'' Bridge Guys (bridgeguys.com). Retrieved 2014-12-11.
In
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 t ...
(ACBL) competition, Sherman won two of the three most important annual tournaments, the Chicago Board-a-Match (now
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 ( ...
) in 1944 and the Vanderbilt in 1953. (The other is the
Spingold The Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Spingold is a knock-out team event that attracts the top contract bridge players in the world. T ...
; few women have won even two.) She also won the premier competition (then "national championship") for mixed pairs in 1942 and 1950, in partnerships with Harry Fishbein and Peter Leventritt; the premier event for women pairs in 1944 and 1949 with Margaret Wagar and Kay Rhodes. She won the analogous mixed teams three times, the women teams once. Sherman was a daughter of Judge Henry L. and Edna Limburger Sherman. Both her grandfathers emigrated from Germany and her maternal grandmother was born in Hungary. She received a Ph.D. in
physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical ...
from
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely fol ...
and worked several years in chemical research. She was a Ph.D. research chemist when she became a strong player in a recurring game including her brother John and based at the family apartment on Park Avenue. Sherman and her brother John won the Grand National Trophy in 1935 with a score of 67%. (Goren says the Mixed Team Championship, 1935.) She and Helen Sobel won the "women's Eastern pair championship" three years running, 1943 to 1945. In 1953 she and three other American women defeated the European Bridge League champion women in an unofficial match at the Regency Club in New York— Helen Sobel, Edith Kemp, and Margaret Wagar. Sherman died "suddenly" in her home at 14 East 75th Street in Manhattan, at age 61 on April 6, 1965. She was survived by two brothers and by their children. Sherman bequeathed $60,000 to four nieces and two nephews. However, her chief beneficiary was "her old friend and partner, Adam Meredith, British bridge expert." (Meredith was one of the six-man Great Britain team that won the 1955 Bermuda Bowl in New York City, the first win for Europe against North America.) Sherman's will set aside $450,000 in trust "to enable
herman Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Minne ...
to continue his bridge activities," an amount . The remainder would revert to her family upon his death (in 1976). According to Alan Truscott, a British expatriate who had been ''New York Times'' bridge columnist for 15 months at the time of her death in April 1964, "In recent years she became less active in American championships but played successfully in many European tournaments, often in partnership with former World Champion Adam Meredith." During the month before her death, Sherman and Sally Johnson led the field of women pairs at the ACBL Spring Nationals after three of four sessions but finished third. According to
Charles Goren Charles Henry Goren (March 4, 1901 – April 3, 1991) was an American bridge player and writer who significantly developed and popularized the game. He was the leading American bridge personality in the 1950s and 1960s – or 1940s and 1950s, as " ...
, Sherman had been exceptionally reliable: "Her partners could rely upon her, but so could her opponents." She and the "brilliant" Meredith played mainly pairs in Europe, however, and she added deceptive tactics under his influence.


Bridge accomplishments


Wins

* Grand National Trophy (1) 1935 *
North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven da ...
(11) **
Rockwell Mixed Pairs The Rockwell Mixed Pairs is a national bridge championship held regularly at the Spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Rockwell Trophy, donated by Helen Rockwell in 1946, is presented to the w ...
(1) 1950 ** Whitehead Women's Pairs (2) 1944, 1949 **
Hilliard Mixed Pairs The Hilliard Mixed Pairs national bridge championship was last held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). History This was the original national mixed pairs event. It was contested at the ...
(1) 1942 ** Vanderbilt (1) 1953 **
Wagar Women's Knockout Teams The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams is a knock-out team event. The event is restric ...
(1) 1942 **
Marcus Cup The Marcus Cup was a two-session open team event contested by Senior Masters at the American Contract Bridge League’s summer North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual bridge tournaments spon ...
(1) 1953 ** Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match (3) 1935, 1945, 1951 **
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 ( ...
(1) 1944


Runners-up

*
North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven da ...
**
von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs The Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). Usually called simply the "Life Master Pairs" or "LM Pairs", this is a six-ses ...
(1) 1946 ** Whitehead Women's Pairs (3) 1934, 1945, 1947 **
Fall National Open Pairs The National Open Pairs was the first national bridge championship for open pairs and was held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC) as a four-session matchpoint (MP) pairs event. History ...
(1) 1947 **
Wagar Women's Knockout Teams The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams is a knock-out team event. The event is restric ...
(6) 1948, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955 **
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 ( ...
(1) 1953


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherman, Ruth 1903 births 1965 deaths American contract bridge players Sportspeople from New York City American people of German-Jewish descent American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent