Duplicate form of card games was known before the turn of the century. Duplicate Whist was played at clubs and small tournaments were occasionally held around the country.

With the advent of Bridge (old style) in the late Nineteenth century and Auction Bridge in 1904, duplicate began to grow in popularity. Some local clubs existed, but they were mostly confined to the large metropolitan areas in the East and in Chicago.

After Vanderbilt’s scoring modifications brought us Contract Bridge as we know it today, several competing organizations vied for control of sanctioning and franchising of duplicate clubs over the nation.

This competition actually hampered the growth of tournament and local-club duplicate. Culbertson’s United States Bridge Association competed with the older American Whist League and the American Bridge League, formerly the American Auction Bridge League.

Not until the merger of the competing organizations in 1936 under the new name of the American Contract Bridge League was order brought to the chaos and the steady growth of local clubs begun. Local players believe that duplicate games were held in Fort Wayne before the formation of the ACBL, but little or no information about these games is known today.

It is known that duplicate bridge was played in Ft. Wayne before our involvement in World War II. Everett Bish recalls a game at the Fairfield Manor, but it was a Culbertson Par Contest and not duplicate as we know it and play it today. It was won by Dr. Jerry Somers (now deceased) and his wife, Jane Somers. Paul Noble recalls a duplicate game started by Harrison Kendall and Steve Trentman, but does not recall where the games were held or whether they were sanctioned by the ACBL.

A few other local players recall various duplicate games before World War II, but the exact location of these games, the names of the directors, whether they were sanctioned and by what sanctioning body is too uncertain to be reported definitively as Ft. Wayne Duplicate History. This history may jog the memories of some of our oldtimers, or cause one of our members to research the matter and additional information about duplicate clubs of the ‘30’s and early ‘40’s may surface and be recorded before it is forever lost to future generations.

Local theories are that the depression, the war and/or lack of time and interest all contributed to the demise of these early efforts at duplicate bridge in Ft. Wayne.

After the end of the war there were ACBL Sectionals held in Indianapolis each January. The weather was usually terrible and travel was hazardous. Few players from our area traveled that distance to play in the sectionals.

Everett Bish, however, who lived much closer in Marion, Indiana, recalls playing at the Indianapolis Sectional in 1946 or 1947. There he met Donald and Gertrude Currie, who told him they were starting an ACBL sanctioned game in Ft. Wayne on Friday evenings. Everett and his partner, Larry Callahan, traveled to Ft. Wayne to play in the Curries’ first Master Point Game held in the mezzanine in the old Indiana Hotel. Conditions for play were certainly not ideal. There were the usual distractions of a hotel mezzanine, noisy conversation from hotel patrons, chairs that were not suited for bridge, and uneven lighting to contend with. Everett and Larry came to Ft. Wayne each month for awhile and had considerable success as they regularly won their direction. Kraut and Sheriden would travel over from Logansport, and they regularly won in the other direction. The Ft. Wayne players appeared to accept the situation with good sportsmanship.

In 1951 the Curries changed their game from Friday night to Monday night and moved their location to Manochio’s Restaurant. Periodically other locations were tried, including the GE Club on Berry Street, east of the Standard Building, but this proved to be an unpopular location because the players had to walk up several flights of stairs, and the game was returned to Manochio’s Restaurant.

In the early 1950’s Jeanne Kovats received an ACBL sanction to hold a duplicate game on Thursday night. She called her club the 'Grand Slam Club'. The games were first held in the American Legion Post on Washington Street south of the Ft. Wayne Public Library, but problems with parking arose and the game was moved to the basement of Howard Johnson’s Restaurant.

In December of 1956 Gertrude Currie and Jeanne Kovats offered to give their club franchises to the players if a nonprofit corporation were organized to accept them. Les Logan, a well known local player, appointed Everett Bish, Jack Frank and Kurt Muller, all Internal Revenue Service employees, to draw up a constitution and bylaws for a nonprofit corporation, which would be satisfactory to the Internal Revenue Service. Because of certain tax rules in effect at the time, it was necessary that the corporation bylaws provide that the director be an independent contractor and not an employee of the corporation. Also, the tax laws made it difficult for the corporation to accumulate any substantial amount of money for a building fund.

The minutes of the first formal meeting of the corporation on December 5, 1956, state that the Curries’ Monday night club and Jeanne Kovats’ Thursday night club were given without charge to the corporation, and the corporation purchased from the Curries and Kovats various supplies, duplicate boards and related material. The minutes further reflect that Don, Gertrude and Jeanne were all given honorary membership in the Corporation with the right of free entry to the games.

On January 10, 1957, at the second meeting of the corporation, Curt Muller was elected president. The other officers elected at that meeting were as follows: first vice-president, Mike Newkirk; second vice president, Marcia Maxwell; third vice president, C. B. Kauff; secretary, Mrs. Don Tierney; secretary, Eleanoir Munson. The remaining three members of the board of directors were Lorene Leiter, James Kavanaugh and Don Currie.

Adair Cummins was hired as the first director on a three month trial basis. Adair proved to be quite capable at the job, and at the end of the three month period he was hired on a permanent basis. On February 3, 1957, the corporation held its first tournament at the Hotel VanOrman. Entry fees were set at $4.00 for two sessions, which included a dinner.

In October of 1958, the club held its first red point tournament (regional) at the VanOrman Hotel.

In July of 1957, Adair Cummins asked to be replaced as director, and Catherine Sherbondy was appointed and continued until January of 1958, when Jim Kavanaugh began directing. In 1960 Catherine Sherbondy again began directing the Thursday night game.

When the corporation was organized the games were being held at Manochio’s Restaurant. In June of 1957 the club left Manochios for a short time and went to Miller’s Cafeteria in the basement of the old Wolf and Dessaur building, later the L. S. Ayres building. However, in August of that year it was decided that Millers was not suitable for the game, and it was returned to Manochio’s Restaurant.

In September of 1960 the club held its second regional at the VanOrman Hotel.

In May of 1961, the club left Manochio’s Restaurant and went to Mr. Charkee’s Restaurant on South Anthony Street, just south of the General Electric Winter Street building. Unfortunately, Charkees did not have air conditioning, and playing conditions were not ideal. Approximately a year later, on July 2, 1962, the corporation moved its games to 802 VanBuren Street in a building owned by Frank Yoder.

During the last half of the ‘50’s and the first few years of the ‘60’s, while the corporation was organizing and improving its Monday-Thursday franchise, and changing the location to suit the wants and needs of the players, other persons were obtaining ACBL franchises for games on other nights. Donna Haefling obtained a franchise for a beginner’s game to be held on Tuesday night. She held her games at Charkee’s Restaurant and continued on at Charkee’s after the corporation moved to Frank’s building. However, in September of 1962, Donna also moved her beginner’s game to the VanBuren Street location. Her game was subsequently taken over by Bob Swindell, and continues to operate to this date.

Jimmy Kavanaugh obtained a franchise for his 'University Club' and held games on Friday night. Jimmy held his games at various locations until January of 1963, when he moved his game to the

When Goren 'invented' the point count system, which had been 'invented' by Milton Work, and previously 'invented' by Campbell, he gave the average man a way of evaluating his hand and becoming an 'instant expert' in bidding. Prior to the point count system, Culbertson’s honor count system and other methods of evaluating a hand, and bidding, had left a great deal to the discretion and experience of the player. Goren’s Standard American methods made it possible for the average person, who did not wish to spend a great deal of time studying bidding methods, to become an adequate bidder. Bridge players already knew how to play the hand, since Auction Bridge had given them a great deal of experience at declaring and defending.