The Master Individual national bridge championship was held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC); it was held from 1931 until 1960 after which it was discontinued.
Trophy
The event was contested for the Karn Trophy from 1931 to 1933 and the Steiner Trophy from 1934 to 1960.
Described as “a magnificent gold cup” by The Bridge World, the Karn trophy was donated by Willard S. Karn in 1931 for the National Individual Masters Championship. While refuting allegations of impropriety in 1933, Karn withdrew his trophy. It was replaced in 1934 by the Steiner Trophy donated by Albert Steiner and Philip Steiner of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Winners
The Master Individual was contested thirty times with a single winner on every occasion. The inaugural event was played at the home of P. Hal Sims in Deal, New Jersey, 5–7 September 1931 and won by Karn himself. Howard Schenken won in 1932 and David Bruce was the final winner in 1933.ACBL Bridge Beat #89: Karn Trophy
Four people won The Master Individual twice: B. Jay Becker, George Rapée, Harry Fishbein, and Morrie Elis. Becker was the sole runner-up three times and tied once; Fishbein and Elis were runners-up once each. Elinor Murdoch was second in 1933 and first in 1934. Sylvia Klein in 1958 was the only other woman champion.Jackpotjill
+ Masters Individual, 1931 to 1960 Year Winner Runner-up 1931 Willard Karn Richard L. Frey 1932 Howard Schenken David Burnstine 1933 David Burnstine Elinor Murdoch 1934 Elinor Murdoch B. Jay Becker 1935 Oswald Jacoby David Burnstine 1936 Waldemar von Zedtwitz Merwyn Maier 1937 B. Jay Becker George Unger 1938 Richard Ecker Jr. Harry Fishbein 1939 Merwyn Maier Alvin Landy 1940 Morrie Elis Lee Hazen 1941 Lee Hazen B. Jay Becker 1942 Harry Fishbein Olive Peterson 1943 Alvin Roth Charles Solomon 1944 George Rapée Robert D. Chatkin 1945 Charles Goren Albert Weiss 1946 Robert A. McPherran Morrie Elis 1947 Charles J. Solomon Jack Cushing 1948 B. Jay Becker Myron Field 1949 George Rapée B. Jay Becker 1950 Morrie Elis Robert Appleyard 1951 Sidney Silodor John R. Crawford 1952 Harry Fishbein Peter Leventritt 1953 Tobias Stone Larry Hirsch 1954 Edward Burns F. Ayres Bombeck 1955 Norman Kay 2/3. B. Jay Becker 2/3. Alvin Roth 1956 John R. Crawford Robert Appleyard 1957 Edgar Kaplan Ernest E. Karshmer 1958 Sylvia Stein John R. Crawford 1959 Leo Pressburg Frank L. Jackson 1960 Robert Reynolds Arthur Robinson
References
Sources
"Search Results: Masters Individual". ACBL. Visit "NABC Winners"; select a Discontinued NABC. Retrieved 2014-06-04.