Marcus Cup Explained

The Marcus Cup was a two-session open team event contested by Senior Masters[1] at the American Contract Bridge League’s summer North American Bridge Championships.[2] From 1946 to 1952, the event winners had been awarded the Faber Cup but in 1953 the Marcus Cup was donated by friends in memory of Edward N. Marcus[3] and replaced the Faber Cup[2] [4]

From 1946 to 1971 scoring had been by Board-a- Match but was changed in 1972 to international match points with Swiss pairings.The Marcus Cup was relegated as a secondary championship in 1968[5] and discontinued after 1978.

Winners

Year Winners Awarded the Faber Cup[6] [7] Runners-up
1946 Charles Groden, Harold Harkavy, Elinor Murdoch, Jack Shore Mrs. L. Goldstein, G. Schildmiller, M. Basher, L. A. Bernard
1947 Jack Cushing, Charles Saunders, Howard Zacks, Helen Zacks Mrs. E. Folline, Mrs. S. Landauer, C. Shapiro, H. Gerst, Dr. A Salasky
1948 Maynard Adams, F. Ayres Bombeck, Bobby Nail, Edson Wood M. Levin, P. Bacher, Mr. and Mrs. L. Jaeger, Peter Leventritt
1949 H. Sanborn Brown, John F. Carlin, Sam Delott, Irving Deuter Ruth Sherman, H. Sonnenblick, Dr. William V. Lipton, W. M. Lichtenstein, Edgar Kaplan
1950 Gretchen Feldstein, Gratian Goldstein, Helen Lackman, Herman Lackman P. Godin, M. Blain, E. Beausoleil, J. J. Perrault
1951 Dorothy E. Berning, Jack Cushing, Jay T. Feigus, Sims Gaynor (tied with)
Jeff Glick, Arthur S. Goldsmith, Alvin Landy, Sol Mogal
1952 Warren Blank, J. George Boeckh, Jack Denny, Duke Dautell, Jerome Jacobs Mr. and Mrs. E. Schwartz, S. Fink, Dr. L. Mark, B. O. Johnson
Winners Awarded the Marcus CupRunners-up
1953 Lee Hazen, Richard Kahn, Edgar Kaplan, Dr. William V. Lipton, Ruth Sherman (tied with)
Israel Cohen, Richard Freeman, Fred Karpin, Mike Michaels
1954 Gerald Ackerman, Leonard Karp, Gwen Montgomery, Robert Rice L. Lentz, S. Landauer, H. Gerst, N. Berlin (tied with)
W. Ridenhour, J. C Barefoot Jr., Mr. and Mrs W. H. Holderness
1955 John Gerber, Jim Jacoby, Oswald Jacoby, Paul Hodge, Walter Wolff Jr. Dr. William V. Lipton, V. Mitchell, R. Reynolds, C. Russell, Frank Nichols
1956 Mr. and Mrs. A.H. Brown, Richard Hart, F. Bert Powley Dr. and Mrs. S. Warner, R. M. Rice, L. Karp, G. Ackerman
1957 John H. Moran, Bill Root, Peggy Rotzell, Robert Sitnek Mrs. T. J. McKenna, Nathan Gerstman, R. Brown, Mrs. R. Nevins
1958 Jackie Begin, Barbara Brier, Maurice Paul, Peter Pender (tied with)
Fred Berger, Dr. John Fisher, Emma Jean Hawes, Margaret Wagar (and)
Mrs. J. Theron Brown, Nathan Gerstman, Dr. Richard Greene, Frank Nichols, Charles Whitehead
1959 Nathan Gerstman, Mrs. Thomas McKenna, Eric R. Murray, Mrs. William Selikoff, Paul Trent Dorothy Hayden, T. Brasher, A. Bell, G. Polak, Dan Rotman (tied with)
R. Wolf, R. Bendan, P. Szecsi, G. Sorter, M. Tish
1960 Mrs. J. Coleman, Mrs. C. Munn, S. Rebner, C. Potvin
1961 Armand Barfus, Billy Eisenberg, Marty Ginsburg, Jeff Westheimer P. Adams, A. Greene, Mrs. S. Warner, Mrs. B. Tepper
1962 Alan Bell, Leona Low, Marc Low, Roger Sarfaty, Richard Vission Mr. and Mrs. T. Griffin, D. Lickly, A. B. Harris
1963 Paul Hodge, John Gerber, Eric R. Murray, D. Carter (tied with)
Harry Fishbein, Alvin Landy, Charles J. Solomon, N. Silverstein, Barry Crane, M. Shuman (and)
Mrs. E. F. Nicholas, J.P. Miler, J. Blair, F. Ayres Bombeck (and)
R. B. Henderson, L. Rafkin, Danny Kleinman, R. Violin
1964 Jack Marsch, Douglas Thomson, Howard Rubin, Hank Promislow, Helen Promislow F. Vine, H. Bork, M. Martino, L. Woodcock (tied with)
Mr. and Mrs. V. Remey, A. Silber, C. Bishop, R. Rosen
1965 Charles Shannon, Robert Hathaway, Ron Andersen, Darrell Penrod Barry Crane, P. Rank, G. Marsee, R. Zoller
1966 Phyllis Kantar, Eddie Kantar, Marshall Miles, Harvey Cohen T. Michaels, I. Cohen, Mrs. P. McDaniel, A. Gabrilovitch
1967 Charles J. Solomon, Peggy Solomon, Harry Fishbein, Julius L. Rosenblum, Sylvia Stein

Notes and References

  1. At the time, a Senior Master was a player with 100 or more master points. References: Francis (1984), pages 352 and 796.
  2. Frey (1964), page 345.
  3. Marcus was a clothing manufacturer from Boston and an ACBL Board member He was named Life Master number 49 in 1945 having won six North American Championships including the Reisinger three times, the Spingold and the von Zedtwitz Life Masters Pairs.
  4. Previously, the Faber Cup had been awarded by the American Whist League for the National Auction Team Championships. Reference: Frey (1964), page 161.
  5. https://web3.acbl.org/nabcwinners?time=Discontinued&event=Marcus+Cupevent Marcus Cup becomes a secondary event.
  6. Frey (1976), pages 762-763.
  7. Francis (1984), page 796.