American Bridge Association records

1933-2005

The formation of the American Bridge Association (ABA) in 1932 was due to racial prejudice and the then-common practice of segregation and hence exclusion from membership and competition in the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). A group of African American players in the New York area conceived of the idea of a national organization to foster and promote duplicate bridge among themselves, leading to the ABA's formation at Buckroe Beach, Virginia. As of 1991, the ABA had 7,000 members and was divided into seven regional and 215 local groups. It sponsors annual tournaments held in the spring and summer as benefits for charitable organizations. Many of the local groups print a newsletter entitled "ABA Flash", and a bulletin is published bimonthly. William R. Tatem assumed the responsibilities of editor of the Bulletin in 1939, and developed it into one of the nation's outstanding publications devoted to organized bridge.

One of ABA's most influential presidents was Victor R. Daly (1949-1964). His major accomplishment was the eradication of racial discrimination in organized bridge in the United States. In 1950, the ACBL polled its membership on the issue of integration and only 56% of the membership favored a continuation of the policy of racial restrictions. Subsequently, friendly areas like New York, Boston, St. Paul, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay area allowed non-white players to compete in local and regional tournaments, even though they generally were not granted membership in the ACBL. After a series of conferences and extensive negotiations between ABA President Daly and ACBL officials in New York, the ACBL voted to amend its by-laws to permit unrestricted membership in the League on the basis of local option. Although there had been hope that the new by-law would be ratified in July 1954, it was not accepted unanimously by the membership until the ACBL national annual meeting in Montreal in 1967.