January 2019 - 28

Legendary Super-team
Fifty years ago, the Aces debuted on the bridge world stage
BY PAUL LINXWILER

Although the history of bridge features many squads who
set the standard of play for their respective eras, the story
of the Aces - organized in 1968 as the brainchild of Dallas
financier Ira Corn - is unique. The team acquired legendary status not only for its roster and results at the table, but
also for the methodical, professional approach to winning
its members employed. Fifty years after the creation of the
Aces - and 35 years after the team's final appearance - the
squad still figures prominently in the history of the game.
Corn was a larger-than-life figure. The jovial, cigarchomping Texas businessman had the flair of an impresario.
With an adventurous appetite for novelty - and a pocketbook to match - Corn set out to create a full-time, professional team whose singular goal was to return the world
bridge championship to the United States after years of the
title being in possession of the Italian Blue Team.
Corn's plan was to assemble six of the top young players in
the U.S. and offer them a salary plus tournament expenses.
This was not to be a side gig for the players, but rather a
career opportunity.

The dreamer: Ira Corn

28 Bridge Bulletin January 2019

The idea for a fulltime team had been
percolating in Corn's
head for a few years. He
had discussed the idea
informally with Bobby
Wolff, who became one
of the original members of the Aces, and Dorothy Moore,
an experienced player who had partnered Corn for several
years. Although Moore was not part of the team, she played
a crucial support role in the early days of the team.
Like Corn, Wolff and Moore were Texans, as was Jim
Jacoby, who became another founding member of the squad
when Corn pressed ahead with his plan in 1967. Although
Corn had originally planned to be part of the team, Wolff
and Jacoby quickly persuaded him that they would need a
team of top-class talent for his plan to work. Corn got the
message, and the fledgling squad soon added Billy Eisenberg, Bobby Goldman and Mike Lawrence. This left the
team five-handed for a bit, with Corn occasionally filling in.
The team practiced with Monroe Ingberman, a bidding
theorist and math expert, but the early days of the squad
saw a lack of cohesion and discipline, as well as some minor
personality clashes. In mid-1968, Joe Musumeci, a retired
Air Force colonel, was signed on to help the Aces develop
focus and good work habits. Wolff, now 86, called this
personnel decision the most important one in the formation
of the team.
"To me, the defining moment in moving the Aces from
being stagnant to being successful was when we changed
our coach from Monroe - who had been expected to help the
partnerships with their bidding systems - to Joe, who had
been my bridge club partner and great friend in San Antonio TX (my birthplace). He instilled the discipline required
within all the partnerships, rather than providing any advice
on how to play the game.
"From that point on, the players began to understand the
dedication we needed to devote to all phases of our game
in order to achieve our goal. He also helped bridge the gap
when Ira retired from wanting to be a player."
In 1969, Bob Hamman was persuaded to join the team,
completing the roster of the squad whose official moniker
was the U.S. Aces, but who became popularly known as the
Dallas Aces. As the lineup of the team changed over the
years, the name changed to simply "the Aces."
Hamman, now 80, explained his hesitancy in joining the
Aces. "I had a meeting in Montreal in 1967 with Ira, Bobby

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2019