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3 unusual facts about Ely Culbertson


Gary Pomerantz

The Devil's Tickets evokes the last echoes of the Roaring 20s and the darkness of the Depression when a suave and cunning Russian-born American named Ely Culbertson became the Barnum of a bridge craze that fueled marital uproar across the nation, including a husband-killing and sensational trial in Kansas City.

Henry Beasley

The first match, Crockford's v. Culbertson, took place in 1930, after the BullerCulbertson match.

Beasley's bridge team played two matches against the formidable Culbertson team, losing both, but helping to develop the game in Britain.



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