Norman Kay (bridge player)
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Norman Kay (born 1927, died January 17, 2002) was an American bridge player, and a leading player in international competition. He partnered Sidney Silodor until Silodor's death in 1963. With Edgar Kaplan, Kay formed one of the most successful and longest-lasting partnerships in organized bridge. It spanned more than 40 years, and ended with Kaplan's death in 1997.
Among Kay's American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) championships:
- The Vanderbilt Teams (1960, 1968, 1970, 1981, 1983 and 1986)
- The Spingold Teams (1967 and 1968)
- The Reisinger Board-A-Match Teams (1961, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1990)
- The Blue Ribbon Pairs (1974), now called the Edgar Kaplan Pairs
- The Open Swiss Teams (1997)
- The Life Master Men's Pairs (1973)
In 1955 Kay won the ACBL's McKenney trophy (now called the Barry Crane Trophy) for most master points won during the tournament year.
Kay won 13 North American Bridge Championships in the period of 1957-1977, when he was named ACBL's top performance player. He won his last NABC in 1997.
He finished second in the Bermuda Bowl twice (1961 and 1967), and took second place (1968) and third place (1960) in the World Bridge Olympiad Teams. He was a WBF Life Master and an ACBL Grand Life Master. Kay was elected to the ACBL Bridge Hall of Fame in 1996 and was ACBL's 2001 Honorary Member of the Year.
Kay was arguably the greatest bridge player who has never became a world champion (according to the WBF Bulletin, another candidate for that title is Edgar Kaplan, Kay's longtime partner). He was known both for the remarkable accuracy of his card play and for his even temperament at the table.
Kay was an account executive for Merrill Lynch for 38 years, retiring as a vice president in 1987. He operated a sports memorabilia business from 1980 to 1996.
