Lenville, Bill

WMBA tournament brochure

The Western Massachusetts Bridge Association (WMBA) Unit 196 was born out of the Springfield Bridge Club in early 1957. Jack Kushner, known as "Mr. Bridge" throughout the area, started his own bridge game in Springfield in late 1931 or early 1932; soon after the game moved from the office building to the Clinton Hotel and then the Hotel Bridgeway. Through Kushner's efforts, the game continued to grow and over time he convinced the Springfield Daily News not only to promote local tournaments, but to support winners by paying expenses to regional tournaments. After World War II, Kushner purchased a house on Mill Street to be the new headquarters for the bridge club, where it remained until the 1960s when the club moved again, this time to 194 Sumner Avenue location. By the late 1950s, Kushner and others decided to organize a Western Massachusetts bridge unit of the American Contract Bridge League, and in November of 1957 the unit ran its first sectional at the Hotel Kimball.

During the early days of Springfield Bridge Club and later the WMBA, leaders of the club, in particular Kushner and William August, developed a system for instructing novices to play bridge. Lessons were conducted at different venues throughout the area, including colleges, churches, clubs, and served the dual purpose of making the game more accessible and recruiting new members for the unit. Ultimately, Kushner published a book based on his method of instruction called Playing the Hand . Throughout the subsequent decades membership in WMBA remained strong and the game continued to flourish in the area.

WMBA Unit 196 is part of the New England Bridge Conference District 25 of the American Contract Bridge League. District 25 is comprised of units from the six New England States and is one the largest districts in the ACBL.

From the guide to the Western Massachusetts Bridge Association Records MS 801., 1957-2007, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries)