Alfred Sheinwold - Captaincies of International Note

Captaincies of International Note

Sheinwold was often sought as captain by US teams that were pursuing national and international championships. He captained the 1985 US team that won the Bermuda Bowl, and also the 1975 US team that placed second in the same event, one that was marred by scandal.

Sheinwold had written an article prior to the 1975 Bermuda Bowl, published by Popular Bridge, that predicted that the Italian Blue Team would not play as effectively once bidding screens were in place. However, in a different article, he also stated that he did not question the honesty of Italian bridge experts. The Italians were of course upset by the former, notwithstanding the apparently contradictory latter.

It was particularly unfortunate, then, that an American newspaper reporter saw one member of an Italian pair, Facchini and Zucchelli, tapping his partner's feet with his own in a suspicious manner. Impartial observers from the World Bridge Federation (WBF) were brought in and confirmed the behavior. After deliberation by the tournament officials, the players in question were severely reprimanded but allowed to continue in the tournament.

In protest, the American team threatened to withdraw from the tournament – the final – if forced to play against the Italian pair, unless ordered to do so by the ACBL. They were ordered to play, as most, including themselves, anticipated they would be. The Italians prevailed over the Americans in the finals.

After initially hearing of the allegations regarding the Italian pair, Sheinwold had to make a difficult decision as to informing Lew Mathe, at the time the President of the Board of Directors of the ACBL. Sheinwold decided to defer informing Mathe, so as not to compromise the investigation. After learning of Sheinwold's decision, the Board removed Sheinwold from a panel of future captains and publicized that action in a fashion that many at the time found petty. Sheinwold then resigned as Chairman of the ACBL's Laws Commission.

Sheinwold was vindicated in 1977 when, during an affair involving cheating allegations against an American pair, Richard Katz and Larry T. Cohen, Mathe spoke in public regarding supposedly secret negotiations. The Bridge World wrote at the time:

"A member of the ACBL Board apologized to Freddy Sheinwold for having criticized team-captain Sheinwold's failure, in the Bermuda scandal of '75, to notify Mathe, then League President, immediately after hearing about the Italian pair. 'You were 100% right not to tell him', the Board member said ruefully."