The Blue Team in the History of Bridge

This is a monumental book. Quite literally. It celebrates and immortalises great men and great deeds. It is large and imposing. And it is vainglorious. I found much of interest, and of use, in the author’s depiction of his actions as a non-playing captain. Selection problems of course (he is not a fan of selection by trials), but more importantly the things he had to do to keep his players happy or even available, let alone on top form. The strictures he imposed on them about practicing, about lifestyle, about behavior. Players and captains alike could benefit from reading the long letter he sent to the team the first time he acted as coach, and which is reproduced in full. I found his discussion of the rights and wrongs of professionalism in bridge, particularly the question of sponsors, interesting given how limited that was then, and how widespread it is now. The story of how the team slowly declined is illuminating, including how he himself felt the need to withdraw from the captaincy, although it does not perhaps give enough attention to how the Blue Team’s challengers improved, notably of course the creation of the Dallas Aces team. In summary, it’s a good book for students of bridge history and for those interested in the psychological and captaincy aspects of improving a bridge team’s performance.