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 final sessions. The event typically starts on the first Sunday of the NABC.
More formally, according to the 2004 ACBL list of "Permanent Trophies" that recognize outstanding members, "The Victor Mitchell trophy is awarded to the winners of the Open Board-a-Match Teams held at the Fall NABC."[1] Victor "Vic" Mitchell was a member of the winning team in 1962 and 1963.
The event was introduced in 1946 as a men's event until 1990 when it became an open event.
An interesting situation occurred in 1977 when there were only three winners: Richard Doughty, Ron Smith and Lou Bluhm (plus these players eligible for session awards only: BruceFerguson, Sidney Lazard, Leslie West and Irv Kostal). Lazard was supposed to play with Doughty but after a good first set, Lazard became ill and Kostal took his place for the evening session.Lazard was better the next day and in his seat for the first final session. Suddenly he toppled over and was rushed to a hospital.Meanwhile, Doughty had to find another partner and Ferguson was pressed into service. Ferguson, whose team had not qualified the previous day, was technically ineligible but was allowed to play only in the afternoon. In the evening, Doughty recruited Leslie West—his fourth partner in four sessions—and the team went on to victory by a margin of two full boards.
| Year | Winners | Runners-up | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Maynard Adams, Julius Bank, Arthur Glatt, William McGhee, Albert Weiss | A. Mitchell Barnes, John R. Crawford, Charles Goren, George Rapée, Sidney Silodor | |
| 1947 | Jeff Glick, Arthur S. Goldsmith, Jack Kravatz, Alvin Landy, Sol Mogal | Joseph Cohan, Louis Mark, H. Russ Storr, George Unger | |
| 1948 | Jack L. Ankus, Jeff Glick, Alvin Landy, John H. Law, Sol Mogal | John R. Crawford, Edward N. Marcus, George Rapée, Sam Stayman | |
| 1949 | Joseph Cohan, Herbert J. Gerst, Jack L. Ankus, William Joseph, H. Russ Storr | ||
| 1950 | Edward Burns, John F. Carlin, David Carter, A. Richard Revell | Robert Appleyard, Ned Drucker, Fred Hirsch, Milton Moss, Milton Vernoff | |
| 1951 | J. Van Brooks, Eugene Dautell, Jack Denny, Ace Gutowsky, Edwin J. Smith | Fred L. Bickel, Joseph J. Foreacre, Robert Lattomus, Ronald Rosenberg | |
| 1952 | 2/3. Samuel Katz, Charles Kuhn, William Seamon, Albert Weiss 2/3. Harry Fishbein, Harold Harkavy, Alvin Roth, Tobias Stone, Waldemar von Zedtwitz | ||
| 1953 | Ben Fain, John Gerber, George Heath, Paul Hodge, Harold Rockaway | Clifford W. Bishop, Harry Fishbein, Arnold Kauder, John H. Moran, Douglas Steen | |
| 1954 | Aaron J. Frank, Jeff Glick, Arthur S. Goldsmith, Alvin Landy, Sol Mogal | Henry Chanin, John W. Fisher, Jim Jacoby, Oswald Jacoby, Sidney Lazard | |
| 1955 | Charles Goren, Peter Leventritt, Charles J. Solomon, Sam Stayman | ||
| 1956 | John R. Crawford, Ben Fain, Paul H. Hodge, Sidney Silodor | 2/3. Paul Allinger, John W. Fisher, Emmanuel Hochfeld, Oswald Jacoby, Sidney Lazard 2/3. Barry Crane, Harold Rockaway, Clarence A. Strouse, John H. Toledano | |
| 1957 | Lew Mathe, Donald Oakie, Meyer Schleifer, Edward O. Taylor | Israel Cohen, Richard Freeman, John C. Kunkel, Alvin Roth, Ivar Stakgold | |
| 1958 | Jeff Glick, Arthur S. Goldsmith, Alvin Landy, Elmer I. Schwartz, Vic D. Zeve | Richard Freeman, Edgar Kaplan, Norman Kay, Ralph Hirschberg | |
| 1959 | Ollie Adams, Ivan Erdos, Oswald Jacoby, Robert G. Sharp | B. Jay Becker, John R. Crawford, Sidney Silodor, Tobias Stone | |
| 1960 | Charles Denby, Burrell I. Humphreys, Alan W. Messer, Marty Scheinberg, Robert P. Wakeman | 2/4. Harry Fishbein, John Gerber, Paul H. Hodge, Charles J. Solomon 2/4 Wilfred Dumas, Donald McGee, John Siverts, Jerzy Zawisza 2/4. James R. Hughes, Marvin Paulshock, Eli Reich, David Treadwell | |
| 1961 | Edgar Kaplan, Mervin Key, Sidney Lazard, Bobby Nail | ||
| 1962 | 1/2. Phil Feldesman, Richard Freeman, Victor Mitchell, Eric Murray, Sam Stayman 1/2. Paul Allinger, Harold Guiver, Lew Mathe, Edward O. Taylor | ||
| 1963 | Phil Feldesman, Victor Mitchell, Sam Stayman, Tobias Stone | B. Jay Becker, Norman Kay, Bill Root, Sol Rubinow, Sidney Silodor | |
| 1964 | Charles Coon, Bobby Nail, Robert Stucker, Frank T. Westcott | ||
| 1965 | Harry Fishbein, Jeff Rubens, Charles J. Solomon, Roger D. Stern | Phil Feldesman, Sidney Lazard, Victor Mitchell, Daniel Rotman, Sam Stayman | |
| 1966 | Anthony Dionisi, Jeremy Flint, Harlow S. Lewis, Peter Pender | ||
| 1967 | Thomas E. Bussey, Jim R. Dunlap, Lawrence Jolma, Robert P. Patterson, Gary Stark | Edward J. Barlow, Phil Read, Robert Spotts, John Sutherlin | |
| 1968 | Mike Becker, Charles Coon, Joel H. Stuart, Peter Weichsel, Richard Zeckhauser | ||
| 1969 | Chuck Burger, Jimmy Cayne, Alvin Roth, Paul Trent | 2/3. Billy Eisenberg, Bobby Goldman, Bob Hamman, Jim Jacoby, Mike Lawrence, Bobby Wolff 2/3. Martin J. Cohn, Norman H. Fischer, Charles M. MacCracken, Bill Reister | |
| 1970 | Bernie Bergovoy, Donald P. Krauss, Lew Mathe,Don Pearson, John Swanson, Richard Walsh | Eddie Kantar, Kyle Larsen, Paul Soloway, Ron Von der Porten | |
| 1971 | Bernie Chazen, Alvin Roth, Alan Sontag, Paul Trent | Gerald Caravelli, Larry T. Cohen, Barry Crane, John Fisher | |
| 1972 | Grant Baze, William Grieve, Donald P. Krauss, Lew Mathe, Peter Pender, George Rapée | ||
| 1973 | 2/3. Lou Bluhm, Steve Goldberg, Lawrence Gould, Steve Robinson 2/3. John R. Crawford, Norm Kurlander, Alvin Roth, Clifford Russell, William Seamon | ||
| 1974 | Ron Andersen, Mark Feldman, Stephen Goldstein, Hugh MacLean, Merle Tom | 2/3. Eric Kokish, Steve Robinson, Mike Shuman, Joey Silver 2/3. Harold Guiver, Marty Shallon, William Sides, Mike Smolen | |
| 1975 | Roger Bates, Edgar Kaplan, Norman Kay, George Rosenkranz | ||
| 1976 | David Ashley, Paul Heitner, John Lowenthal, Mike Smolen | Bart Bramley, Marvin Herbert, Howard Piltch, Lou Reich, Ira Rubin | |
| 1977 | Lou Bluhm, Richard Doughty, Ron L. Smith, (Bruce Ferguson, Irv Kostal, Sidney Lazard, Leslie West)* | Richard Freeman, Alvin Roth, Clifford Russell, Curtis Smith, Merle Tom, Art Waldmann | |
| 1978 | Steve Garner, Dave Lehman, Dick Melson, Larry Oakey | ||
| 1979 | Mike Cappelletti, Ron Feldman, Gary Hann, David Hoffner, Zeke Jabbour, David Sacks | ||
| 1980 | Bart Bramley, Ross Grabel, William Rosen, Milton Rosenberg, Sam Stayman, George Tornay | Ira Corn, Fred Hamilton, Bob Hamman, Ira Rubin, Bobby Wolff | |
| 1981 | Marty Bergen, Neil Chambers, Joey Silver, Allan Stauber | Michael Aliotta, Marc Culbertson, Jim Gardner, Bert Newman | |
| 1982 | Dave Berkowitz, Matt Granovetter, Harold Lilie, Al Rand | Bob Blanchard, Drew Casen, Chuck Lamprey, Thomas M. Smith | |
| 1983 | Tommy Sanders, Harold Guiver, Grant Baze, John Sutherlin | Cliff Russell, Bobby Levin, Richard Freeman, Lou Bluhm, John Solodar, Ron Gerard | |
| 1984 | Malcolm Brachman, Bobby Wolff, Bob Hamman, Paul Soloway, Ron Andersen, Bobby Goldman | ||
| 1985 | Hal Mouser, Josh Parker, Ron Gerard, Dan Rotman | Roger Bates, John Mohan, Alan Sontag, John Devine | |
| 1986 | Don Caton, Robert Kehoe, Gene Simpson, Robert Teel | ||
| 1987 | Bart Bramley, Steve Garner, Howard Weinstein, Lou Bluhm | ||
| 1988 | Victor Mitchell, Albert Rahmey, Michael Moss, Drew Casen, Howard Hertzberg | ||
| 1989 | Jimmy Cayne, Chuck Burger, Bob Hamman, Bobby Wolff, Lew Stansby, Dave Berkowitz | ||
| Year | Winners | Runners-up | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Mark Moss, Robert Thompson, Daniel Molochko, Jack Wholly | George Rosenkranz, Eddie Wold, Peter Weichsel, Bobby Levin, Marty Bergen, Larry N. Cohen | |
| 1991 | Jim Hall, Tom Fox, Dick Melson, David Lehman | ||
| 1992 | Richard Katz, Garey Hayden, Wafik Abdou, Ira Cohen; Mike Whitman (npc) | Drew Cannell, Jeffrey Hand, Claudio Caponi, Steve Hamaoui | |
| 1993 | Paul Soloway, Bobby Goldman, Mark Lair, Mike Passell; Jimmy Cayne (npc) | Jim Hall, Tom Fox, Dave Lehman, Dick Melson | |
| 1994 | Brian Glubok, Steve Zolotow, Chris Compton, Lew Stansby,Ron Smith | ||
| 1995 | James Cayne, Chuck Burger, Paul Soloway, Mike Passell, Mark Lair, Bobby Goldman | ||
| 1996 | David Mossop, Paul Hackett, Justin Hackett, Jason Hackett | ||
| 1997 | Bob Blanchard, Jim Krekorian, Doug Doub, John Rengstorff | Allen Hawkins, Russ Ekeblad, Jim Foster, John Sutherlin, Ron L. Smith | |
| 1998 | Grant Baze, Fred Gitelman, George Mittelman, Brad Moss, Michael Whitman | Nick Nickell, Richard Freeman, Bob Hamman, Paul Soloway, Jeff Meckstroth, Eric Rodwell | |
| 1999 | Nick Nickell, Richard Freeman, Bob Hamman, Paul Soloway, Jeff Meckstroth, Eric Rodwell | ||
| 2000 | Eddie Wold, George Rosenkranz, Sam Lev, John Mohan, Piotr Gawryś, Jacek Pszczoła | ||
| 2001 | George Jacobs, Ralph Katz, Norberto Bocchi, Giorgio Duboin, Lorenzo Lauria, Alfredo Versace | ||
| 2002 | Roy Welland, Björn Fallenius, Steve Garner, Howard Weinstein, Fred Gitelman | ||
| 2003 | George Jacobs, Ralph Katz, Norberto Bocchi, Giorgio Duboin, Lorenzo Lauria, Alfredo Versace | Sam Lev, Brian Glubok, Michał Kwiecień, Jacek Pszczoła, Reese Milner | |
| 2004 | Christal Henner-Welland, Mike Kamil, Fulvio Fantoni, Claudio Nunes, Peter Bertheau, Fredrik Nystrom | Roy Welland, Björn Fallenius, Michael Rosenberg, Zia Mahmood, Cezary Balicki, Adam Żmudziński | |
| 2005 | Michael Whitman, Grant Baze, Steve Beatty, Sam Lev, Jacek Pszczoła | ||
| 2006 | John Onstott, Steve Beatty, Drew Casen, Jim Krekorian, Jørgen Molberg, Terje Aa | ||
| 2007 | Aleksander Dubinin, Andrew Gromov, Cezary Balicki, Adam Żmudziński | ||
| 2008 | Aubrey Strul, Mike Becker, David Berkowitz, Larry N. Cohen, Chip Martel, Lew Stansby | ||
| 2009 | Doug Doub, Craig Gower, Jacob Morgan, Michael Polowan, Adam Wildavsky | ||
| 2010 | Rob Brady, Alan Kleist, Howard Liu, Danning Dong | ||
| 2011 | Jared Lilienstein, Michael Polowan, Jan Jansma, Adam Wildavsky | ||
| 2012 | |||
| 2013 | Jim Mahaffey, Tony Forrester, Jean Quantin, Marc Bompis, Alexander Smirnov, Josef Piekarek | Jill Levin, Bobby Levin, Steve Weinstein, Jenny Wolpert | |
| 2014 | Andrew Gromov, Aleksander Dubinin, Krzysztof Buras, Grzegorz Narkiewicz, Jacek Jerzy Kalita, Michal Nowosadzki | Michael Kamil, Stan Tulin, Gary Cohler, Billy Cohen, Dror Padon, Alon Birman | |
| 2015 | Richard Schwartz, Allan Graves, Boye Brogeland, Espen Lindqvist, Huub Bertens, Daniel Korbel | Vytautas V Vainikonis, Wojtek Olanski, Boguslaw Gierulski, Jerzy Skrzypczak, Ron Pachtmann, Piotr Pawel Zatorski | |
| 2016 | Stan Tulin, Kevin Dwyer, Alon Birman, Dror Padon, Michal Nowosadzki, Jacek Kalita | Daniel Korbel, David Bakhshi, Richard Schwartz, Boye Brogeland, Espen Lindqvist, David Gold | |
| 2017 | Richard Schwartz,David Gold,Jerry Stamatov,Diyan Danailov.Michael Bell | James Cayne,Alan Sontag,Giovanni Donati,Alfredo Versace,Lorenzo Lauria,Mustafa Cem Tokay | |
| 2018 | Marty Fleisher, Chip Martel, Geoff Hampson, Eric Greco, Joe Grue, Brad Moss | Mikael Rimstedt, Ola Rimstedt, Marion Michielson, Per-Ola Cullin, Peter Bertheau, Daniel Zagorin | |
| 2019 | Howard Weinstein, Michael Becker, Bob Hamman, Peter Weichsel, Liam Milne, Andy Hung | Margie Cole, Alejandro Biachedi, Giorgia Botta, Cenk Tuncok | |
| 2020 | Not held (COVID-19) | Not held (COVID-19) | |
| 2021 | Mitch Dunitz, Mark Itabashi, Iftikhar Baqai, Ross Grabel | Tim Verbeek, Patricia Cayne, Dano De Falco, Danny Molenaar, Bart Nab, Bob Drijver | |
| 2022 | John McAllister, Alexander Wernle, Jovanka Smederevac, Sveinn Eiriksson | Corey Krantz, Bruce Lang, Jerry Stamatov, Ivan Nanev Ivanov |
* Session awards only