| John Yocum Randolph Crawford | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 4, 1915 Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania |
| Died | February 14, 1976 Manhattan |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Bridge and Backgammon Player |
John Yocum Randolph Crawford (August 4, 1915 – February 14, 1976) was an American bridge and backgammon player.
In bridge, he was a member of United States teams that won the first three Bermuda Bowls, or world teams championships, in 1950, 1951 and 1953; a wholly new team represented the US in 1954. In backgammon, Crawford is known as the inventor of the "Crawford rule", a regulation that restricts use of the doubling die in match play.
Life
Of Scots descent, the younger son of Andrew Wright Crawford Sr. (1873–1929), a town planner, he was born at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and died in Manhattan aged 60. He was married to Carol Stolkin, née Ross, also a celebrated backgammon player.
Books
- Canasta (New York: JCS Associates, 1950; London: Faber, 1951)
- Samba, three-deck canasta (Doubleday, 1951)
- How to be a consistent winner in the most popular card games (Doubleday, 1953); revised 1961
- Contract bridge (Grosset & Dunlap, 1953), Crawford assisted by Fred L. Karpin
- Calypso: how to play and win the fascinating new card game (Doubleday, 1955)
- The backgammon book (Viking Press, 1970), Oswald Jacoby and Crawford
The latter was soon translated.
- Das Backgammonbuch, German transl. by Jens Schmidt-Prange and Suzanne Gangloff (Munich: Keyser, 1974)
- Le livre du backgammon, French transl. by René Orléan, 1975
Bridge accomplishments
Honors
- ACBL Hall of Fame, 1995
Awards
- Fishbein Trophy 1952, 1957
- Herman Trophy 1953
Wins
- Bermuda Bowl (3) 1950, 1951, 1953
- North American Bridge Championships (37)
- Vanderbilt (9) 1941, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960
- Spingold (5) 1943, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1957
- Chicago (now Reisinger) (10) 1937, 1938, 1939, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1961
- Men's Board-a-Match Teams (2) 1956, 1961
- Master Mixed Teams (4) 1942, 1945, 1948, 1957
- Life Master Pairs (1) 1943
- Men's Pairs (1) 1939
- Rockwell Mixed Pairs (3) 1948, 1949, 1959
- Hilliard Mixed Pairs (1) 1945
- Master Individual (1) 1956
Runners-up
- Bermuda Bowl (1) 1958
- North American Bridge Championships (27)
- Vanderbilt (1) 1952
- Spingold (4) 1939, 1947, 1955, 1961
- Chicago (now Reisinger) (2) 1948, 1950
- Men's Board-a-Match Teams (4) 1946, 1948, 1959, 1973
- Master Mixed Teams (6) 1944, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1973, 1975
- Life Master Pairs (5) 1938, 1941, 1947, 1952, 1956
- Men's Pairs (1) 1953
- Rockwell Mixed Pairs (1) 1947
- Hilliard Mixed Pairs (1) 1942
- Master Individual (2) 1951, 1958
See also
References
- "Sport: Four Other Bridge Masters". TIME. September 29, 1958. (subscription required)
- Francis, Henry G.; Truscott, Alan F.; Francis, Dorthy A., eds. (1994). The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (5th ed.). Memphis, TN: American Contract Bridge League. ISBN 0-943855-48-9. LCCN 96188639.
- "Induction by Year" Archived 2014-12-05 at the Wayback Machine. Hall of Fame. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
- "Crawford, John". Hall of Fame. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
External links
- Citation at the ACBL Hall of Fame (archived)
- "International record for John R. Crawford". World Bridge Federation.
- "John Crawford – The Table Games Genius" at Backgammon Portal (backgommoned.com)