Dallas Aces

The Dallas Aces (initially the U.S. Aces, later simply the Aces) were the world's first professional bridge team, organized in 1968 by Dallas businessman Ira Corn. Corn was determined to return bridge supremacy to America, after its domination for more than a decade by the formidable Italian Blue Team. The Aces, in various formations during the years featured stars such as James Jacoby, Bobby Wolff, Billy Eisenberg, Bobby Goldman, Mike Lawrence, Paul Soloway, Eric Murray and Sami Kehela. They won the 1970, 1977 and 1983 Bermuda Bowls, as well as several other competitions. The team slowly disbanded after Corn's death in 1982.

Corn recruited James Jacoby and Bobby Wolff, then Billy Eisenberg, Bobby Goldman, and Mike Lawrence, paying salaries ($800 per month for single players, $950 for married ones) plus expenses for major tournaments.Bob Hamman at first declined an invitation, but became the sixth team member in 1969. Jacoby paired with Wolff, Eisenberg with Goldman, and Lawrence with Hamman. The team practiced and analyzed hands for long hours. Corn hired coaches and provided a computer from one of his companies to assist analysis and to generate bridge deals to order.

In 1969, the team achieved its first major success, winning the Spingold Knockout Teams at the fall North American Bridge Championships. That year it represented North America in the Bermuda Bowl tournament, the nearly-annual Teams world championship. But the Aces placed third behind a team from Taiwan—an astonishing upset and the first time that a Bermuda Bowl final match did not include North America or the United States. Meanwhile, the Blue Team won its tenth in a row, and then disbanded. The Aces beat Taiwan in the 1970 final and defended their title in 1971, beating France in the final.

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