Sidney Lazard, is one of the all-time bridge greats. He has won at least one North American championship in each of the past six decades.

He has been playing bridge since 1945 – duplicate since 1948. Over the years he has regularly partnered newcomer players at club games in New Orleans and Dallas.

In 2004 he was honored by the International Bridge Press Association for Best Bidding Sequence of the Year (Romex Award) as well as being named the ACBL Honorary Member and in 2001 he established a major award for sportsmanship in the name of his late son Sydney Junior, died of cancer at the age of 41.

At the world level he has captained the United States to Bermuda Bowl championships twice – 2000 in Bermuda and in Monte Carlo in 2004.

He was a member of the U.S. team that finished second in the Bermuda Bowl in 1959. He had world championship thirds in the 1969 Bermuda Bowl and the 1998 Rosenblum Teams.

In ACBL tournaments he has wins in two Spingolds, two Reisingers and one Vanderbilt. The Reisingers came 38 years apart — 1960 and 1998. He also has taken the gold medal five times in the Mixed Teams. Other victories include the Blue Ribbon Pairs in 2002 with Bart Bramley, the Grand National Pairs with Jack Lanoue and the Pair Trials with George Rapee.

What got Sidney started in bridge?

His cousin. Betty Goldstein, was teaching bridge at an Air Force base, and she thought Lazard would like the game, so she got him going. Cards are in Lazard’s family tree – “My grandfather Joe was a great card player. My father, Jules, was a good card player, too.”

“I really enjoy bridge,” said Lazard. “I like the pure reasoning. I like coming up with the answers. I like to test myself. I like the competition.”

He’s had some interesting experiences over the years. He remembers what a tough time he had playing against Al Roth and Tobias Stone back in 1963. He got wiped out the first two times he played against them. He was determined to do better the third time – but it was even worse. He came up against them a fourth time, and it was the same old story. At one point, Roth asked what the requirements were for one of Lazard’s partner’s bids. Stone said,

“He doesn’t know. He’s quite stupid.” Lazard “accidentally” swept a full ashtray into Stone’s lap. “I’m also very sloppy,” he said.

“After the story got out, I got fan mail from all over the country congratulating me on finding such a fine response to Stone’s comment,” said Lazard.

He was playing against John Crawford in a Vanderbilt final, and his team was very much the underdog. Crawford asked him to bet on the match. Lazard didn't want to, but he feared his partner would think he had a negative outlook if he refused, so he said OK. Crawford reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills totaling in the thousands. “There’s my bet,” said Crawford. No happy ending – Lazard lost.

Lazard also recalls the time he was a member of a seven-man team that won an NABC Men’s Team event. Seven? You can’t have more than six on a team! What happened is that Lazard passed out during the first of four sessions and was able to return only briefly in the second session. Three different substitutes took his place in the last three sessions, and the combination won the event.

He has enjoyed many, many partners over the years.

Here are some of his favorites: in the Fifties: Bill Hanna, Paul Allinger and John Fisher; in the Sixties: Edgar Kaplan and George Rapee; in the Seventies: his son Sidney Lazard, Jr. and Frank Hoadley; in the Eighties: Jack Lanoue; in the early Nineties: Edgar Kaplan and Norman Kay; finally, in the late Nineties through today: Bart Bramley.