Samuel M. Stayman (May 28, 1909 – December 11, 1993) was 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, writer, and administrator. He is best known for

Stayman Stayman is a bidding convention in the card game contract bridge. It is used by a partnership to find a 4-4 or 5-3 trump fit in a suit after making a one (1NT) opening bid and it has been adapted for use after a 2NT opening, a 1NT overcall, a ...

, one of the world's most popular conventions; indeed, a day after writing his obituary

Alan Truscott Alan Fraser Truscott (16 April 1925 – 4 September 2005) was a British-American bridge player, writer, and editor. He wrote the daily bridge column for ''The New York Times'' for 41 years, from 1964 to 2005, and served as Executive Editor for th ...

called him "the player best known in the world".

Life

Stayman was born in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

. He graduated from Dartmouth College and from its affiliated Amos Tuck School of Business in 1930 and 1931. He became a successful textile executive (Stayman & Stayman) and portfolio management executive (Strand & Company). He lived primarily in Manhattan. Stayman "played with enthusiasm until a few days before his death." He died of cancer at his home in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...

, in 1993 at age 84. He was survived by his second wife Josephine (his first, Marjorie, had died in 1960), three daughters and a son, and several grandchildren.

Bridge career

The Stayman convention was invented independently by

Jack Marx Jackson Gregory Marx, known as Jack Marx, is an Australian journalist and author. He was born in Maitland, New South Wales. Career Marx moved to Sydney in his late teens to pursue a career in music with the rock band I Spartacus (previously ...

and by Stayman's regular partner George Rapée. It became associated with his name because it was first published in an article written by Stayman, in ''

The Bridge World ''The Bridge World'' (TBW), the oldest continuously published magazine about contract bridge, was founded in 1929 by Ely Culbertson. It has since been regarded as the game's principal journal, publicizing technical advances in bidding and the pl ...

'' magazine, June 1945. He also gave his name, spelled backward, to the Namyats convention, which was invented by another regular partner, Victor Mitchell. Stayman and Rapée, John Crawford and Howard Schenken,

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 and widely known as "Mr. Bri ...

and Sidney Silodor won the inaugural

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 1950, representing North America in a 3-way tournament with Great Britain and "Europe". For the next several years the event was a long head-to-head match with a European champion that might be Great Britain; Stayman, Rapée, Crawford, and Schenken won the next two in 1951 and 1953 with different teammates. Stayman also won a score of North American titles. From 1958 to 1972, Stayman was president of the Cavendish Club of New York. As a bridge administrator, he was treasurer of the

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) from 1966 to 1969, and also served on the ACBL Charity Foundation. He was recognized as an honorary member of the ACBL in 1969 and of the American Bridge Teachers Association (ABTA) in 1979, having written at least a few books on bridge. Stayman 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 1996.

Bridge accomplishments

Honors

, 1996"Induction by Year"
''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-11-12.
With linked citations. * ACBL Honorary Member of the Year 1969 * American Bridge Teachers' Association (ABTA) Honorary Member, 1979

Wins

(3) 1951, 1952, 1953 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 ...

(20) **

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) 1965 ** Open Pairs (1928-1962) (1) 1959 ** Vanderbilt (4) 1942, 1946, 1950, 1951 **

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 ...

(4) 1952, 1962, 1963, 1980 **

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 ( ...

(3) 1945, 1953, 1984 **

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 ...

(7) 1942, 1944, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1955, 1959

Runners-up

(1) 1950 **

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 ...

(1) 1945 ** Vanderbilt (4) 1944, 1945, 1952, 1969 **

(3) 1948, 1955, 1965 **

(5) 1947, 1948, 1950, 1976, 1977 **

(2) 1947, 1969

Publications

Stayman was a contributing editor of ''

The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge ''The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge'' (OEB) presents comprehensive information on the card game contract bridge with limited information on related games and on playing cards. It is "official" in reference to the American Contract Bridge Leag ...

'', which appeared in several editions beginning 1964. He wrote three books. * 144 pp. – UK edition,

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

, 1952 * 223 pp. – UK edition, London: Rockliff, 1956 * 207 pp. – UK edition, Faber, 1969, edited and introduced by Victor Mollo A second US edition of the latter was published as ''Highroad to Winning Bridge: do you play Stayman?'' (NY: Cornerstone Library, 1970), with a foreword by

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif (, ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub ; 10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s. He is bes ...

. A Chinese translation was published in 1972. ''The Complete Stayman System'' was published at least in French (1956) and Italian (1965) translations, introduced by Pierre Albarran and Mario Franco.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stayman, Sam 1909 births 1993 deaths American contract bridge players American contract bridge writers Tuck School of Business alumni Writers from Worcester, Massachusetts