James Jacoby

{{short description|American bridge player and writer}} {{for|the British lace manufacturer and politician|James Alfred Jacoby}} '''James Oswald Jacoby''' (April 4, 1933 – February 8, 1991) was an American bridge player and writer. He played as '''Jim Jacoby''' but he wrote books as James and for many years co-wrote a syndicated bridge column with his father as "Jacoby on Bridge" by Oswald and James Jacoby.  (He wrote a re-branded newspaper bridge column after his father's death.)

He won 16 "national" (ACBL) championships, first at age 22 in 1955, and he was the most successful ACBL tournament player ({{gcb|masterpoint}}s leader) during 1988.<ref name=truscott/><ref name=ACBLhof/>

Jacoby may have inherited talent and interest in games not only from his legendary father Oswald Jacoby. He and his mother Mary Zita Jacoby co-wrote ''The New York Times Book of Backgammon'' (1973). {{LCCN|73079915}}

Jacoby graduated from the University of Notre Dame.<ref name=truscott/> He was a long-time resident of Texas and an original, 1968 member of the professional bridge team formed by Texas businessman Ira Corn, variously known as the Aces, Dallas Aces, and Texas Aces.

Jacoby was a resident of Richardson, Texas, when he died of cancer in a Dallas hospital at age 58. He was survived by his wife Judy, his son Jim Jacoby, Jr., and his brother Jon.<ref name=truscott/>

In {{gcb|team|teams-of-four}} competition Jacoby was a member of four world champions. The Aces won the Bermuda Bowl both in 1970 as U.S. representative and in 1971 as defending champion. United States won the 8th quadrennial World Team Olympiad in 1988 (its first win in the open flight, in a field of 56 national teams). Jacoby also led the winning mixed team in 1972 as playing captain.

At {{gcb|pairs}} Jacoby won world silver medals in the 1966 Open Pairs with Dr. John Fisher and in the 1978 Mixed Pairs with Heitie Noland (quadrennial events in non-Olympic even years).

Jacoby was inducted into the ACBL Hall of Fame in 1997.<ref name=HOFby/>

==Bridge accomplishments==

===Awards and honors===

* Barry Crane Trophy, 1988<ref name=truscott/><ref name=ACBLhof/> * ACBL Hall of Fame, 1997<ref name=HOFby>[http://www.acbl.org/about-acbl/hall-of-fame/induction-by-year "Induction by Year"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205191454/http://www.acbl.org/about-acbl/hall-of-fame/induction-by-year/ |date=2014-12-05 }}. ''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-11-10.</ref>

==References== {{reflist |25em |refs= <ref name=ACBLhof> [http://web5.acbl.org/about-acbl/hall-of-fame/members/jacoby-james-jim "Jacoby, James (Jim)"]. ''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2015-01-06.</ref>

<ref name=truscott> [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/10/obituaries/jim-jacoby-bridge-champion-58-represented-us-at-world-level.html "Jim Jacoby, Bridge Champion, 58; Represented U.S. at World Level"]. Alan Truscott. ''The New York Times''. February 10, 1991. Retrieved 2014-11-01. Quote: "died Friday night".</ref> }}

==External links== * {{ACBLhof|jacoby-james-jim}} * {{WBFpeople|name=Jim Jacoby}} * {{LCAuth|n83009802|James Jacoby|6|}} * {{findagrave|136412057}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacoby, James Oswald}} Category:1933 births Category:1991 deaths Category:Writers from New York City Category:American contract bridge players Category:Bermuda Bowl players Category:American contract bridge writers Category:University of Notre Dame alumni Category:People from Richardson, Texas Category:20th-century American people