Dorothy Hayden Truscott

Dorothy Hayden Truscott (November 3, 1925 – July 4, 2006) was an American bridge player, winner of four world championships and the top-ranked woman for many years.

Early and later life

Truscott was born as Dorothy Johnson in New York City. Her parents, Dorothy and Reginald Johnson, were keen bridge players and taught their daughter the game when she was 7 years old. Truscott would normally watch her mother play the game, but her father would allow her to bid and play his hand when he poured drinks. One evening a player was late, and she was allowed to fill in. That introduction made her a "bridge addict" for the remainder of her life.

She graduated from Smith College and briefly taught mathematics in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her first two marriages ended in divorce. Her third, in 1972, was to Alan Truscott, bridge journalist for The New York Times.

Truscott died in Russia, New York, of complications from Parkinson's disease.

Wins WBF World Bridge Championships (4) Venice Cup (3) 1974, 1976, 1978 World Women Team Olympiad (1) 1980 ACBL North American Bridge Championships (26) North American Swiss Teams (1) 1987 Master Mixed Teams (1) 1985 Women's Board-a-Match Teams (7) 1967, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1986, 1994 Women's Knockout Teams (4) 1976, 1982, 1990, 1993 Women's Swiss Teams (1) 1992 North American Women's Swiss Teams (2) 1982, 1984 Blue Ribbon Pairs (1) 1963 Life Master Pairs (1) 1964 Fall National Open Pairs (1) 1962 Mixed Pairs (2) 1959, 1989 Life Master Women's Pairs (3) 1961, 1966, 1978 Women's Pairs (2) 1959, 1981

Runners-up WBF World Bridge Championships Bermuda Bowl (1) 1965 ACBL North American Bridge Championships (18) Vanderbilt (1) 1964 Spingold (2) 1965, 1968 North American Swiss Teams (1) 1994 Master Mixed Teams (4) 1957, 1960, 1967, 1972 Women's Board-a-Match Teams (3) 1963, 1964, 1988 Women's Knockout Teams (1) 1987 Women's Swiss Teams (1) 1995 Life Master Women's Pairs (1) 1972 Women's Pairs (3) 1968, 1976, 1988 Women's Pairs, Spring NABC (1) 1961

Publications

Canadian edition: Bridge Bidding. Toronto: Key Books. (1978), (paper).

Audio-video Play Bridge with Omar Sharif (Great Neck, NY: Best Film & Video, 1986) – tips by Omar Sharif with commentary by Truscott