Eric Murray, as well as being one of the all-time greats, is one of the true characters of the bridge world.  A leading civil litigation attorney in Toronto, Murray won one of the first $1 million-plus civil-court judgments in Canada and is legendary as a raconteur and orator.

Murray is the most successful Canadian player ever. He started his career playing with Douglas  Drury, he qualified for his first international team with Charles Coon, had mixed event successes with Hall of Fame member Agnes Gordon, but became legend with Sami Kehela.

As a pair, Murray and Kehela first represented North America in the Bermuda Bowl in 1966. The Bulletin did a series introducing the North American Team that year. Known for their humor, this was how Kehela introduced Murray to the world:

“The world’s greatest bridge player was born 37 years ago in Hamilton, Ontario, a small village on the outskirts of Toronto. He discovered bridge in his second year as a freshman when he happened upon four people seated at a table holding cards and screaming at each other at the top of their lungs. Eric Murray was – and is – the possessor of a stout pair of lungs and he was soon the outstanding player in his circle. As such he came to the attention of one Harry Bork, a patient man and the leading player in Hamilton, who attempted without any success whatsoever, to teach Eric some of the finer points of the game. (He did, however, cultivate in him a taste for cheap cigars.) Nevertheless, bolstering his modest ability by a fierce will to win, Eric was soon holding his own at the weekly duplicates, and by the time he accumulated his first masterpoint he felt that he was ready for the big city.

“Murray’s early stay in Toronto marked a period of unprecedented prosperity for that city’s rubber bridge players. Penniless and desperate, our hero threw himself at the feet of Douglas Drury. Drury who was then – and remained until 1957, the year I came to Canada, the best bidder in the country, consented to make a disciple of the callow youth, and I can pay him no greater tribute than to point out that he and Murray won the National Men’s Pair Championship in 1954 and 1955. When the burden of carrying Murray alone eventually proved too great, Drury craftily conscripted Percy Sheardown and Bruce Elliott to help. As a team they developed a formidable reputation, and, beginning to believe that he was not such a dreadful player after all, Murray demanded that he be permitted to bid no trump once in a while. This was too much for Drury who fled to San Francisco.

“Assuming a grand manner, Eric let it be known that he was available to form a partnership and would entertain applications from likely candidates. This elicited offers from three Roth-Stoners and an invitation to the Salvation Army Whist Drive. In the meantime his agents in the field suggested that a certain newcomer from England might be persuaded to fill the bill since he was probably unaware of the discrepancy between Murray’s reputation and his ability. Acting on the advice of his P.R. man, Mr. Murray commenced to hold forth on the deficiencies of a certain Mr. Kehela as a bridge player, suggesting that though the latter’s card-play was not completely intolerable, his bidding was that of a raving lunatic. Privately I was besieged by phone calls, letters and delegations – now cajoling, now threatening – until my resistance wore down and I agreed to take him in hand. Surprisingly, my new pupil had no difficulty adapting to my bidding theories, and after some formal financial negotiations had been completed, we were ready to launch our partnership. It was 1959.

“Brain-washed and exhilarated (“Colonial Acol” is heady stuff) Murray began making significant dents in ACBL silverware. Though together we have won our share of national titles (including the Spingold in 1964 and 1965), my proudest moment came when I let Eric out on his own for the first time in 1961 and he justified my confidence by winning the Vanderbilt in partnership with Charles Coon and a pick up pair  from Philadelphia (Arthur Robinson & Robert Jordan), and then going on to represent North American in the 1962 Bermuda Bowl.

“Determined to achieve immortality, Murray decided to invent a convention. After giving the matter a little thought I presented him with some ideas for which he immediately took credit, dubbing it the “Murray Two Diamond” (it had to outrank Drury). Though the convention has a great deal of theoretical merit, its only effect thus far has been to lead to some uncomfortable part-score contracts in diamonds with inadequate trump suits (he invariably forgets his “own” convention).”

Murray represented North America in the Bermuda Bowl in 1962, 1966, 1967 and 1974; Canada in other world competitions in 1960, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1978, 1980 and 1982. He placed 3rd in the Rosenblum Teams in 1982.

Murray’s successes include achieving the rank of ACBL Grand Life Master, winning the Team Trials in 1966, the Lou Herman Trophy in 1963, the Vanderbilt in 1961 and 1970; the Spingold in 1964, 1965 and 1968; the Men’s Teams in 1962, the Life Master Men’s Pairs and the Mixed Pairs in 1963; the Men’s Pairs 1945 and 1955, the Master Mixed Teams in 1956 and 1962 and the Life Master Pairs in 1969. Murray placed 2nd in the Master Mixed Teams in 1954, the Chicago (now the Reisinger) in 1961, the Men’s Pairs in 1965, the Blue Ribbon Pairs in 1969 and the Reisinger in 1969 and 1972. He won the Canadian National Teams Championships in 1980, 1981 and 1987 and placed 2nd in 1986 and 1988.

Murray also won the Canadian Invitational Pairs (Calcutta) in 1993. He devised Murray 2*D* convention. Murray co-authored the Drury convention and was the contributing editor to The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge.