John R. Crawford

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John Yocum Randolph Crawford
BornAugust 4, 1915
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
DiedFebruary 14, 1976
Manhattan
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Bridge and Backgammon Player

John Yocum Randolph Crawford[1] (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[edit]

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.[2]

Books[edit]

  • 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[edit]

Honors[edit]

Awards[edit]

Wins[edit]

Runners-up[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Sport: Four Other Bridge Masters". TIME. September 29, 1958. (subscription required)
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Induction by Year" Archived 2014-12-05 at the Wayback Machine. Hall of Fame. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  4. ^ "Crawford, John". Hall of Fame. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-22.

External links[edit]