Alan Fraser Truscott (April 16, 1925 – September 4, 2005) was a bridge player, author and columnist. He wrote the daily bridge column for The New York Times for 41 years, from 1964 to 2005 and served as Executive Editor for all six editions of The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, 1964 to 2002.
Truscott was born in Brixton, south London, and showed early prowess at chess. He attended Whitgift School in Croydon and served in the Royal Navy for three years around the end of World War II. From 1947 he studied at the University of Oxford, which he represented at both chess and bridge. With Oxford partner Robert d'Unienville, he was on the British team (along with Terence Reese and Boris Schapiro) that won a bronze medal at the European bridge championships in 1951, age only 26. He represented Britain in the same event twice more, finishing second with partner Maurice Harrison-Gray in 1958 (again along with Reese–Schapiro) and first with partner Tony Priday in 1961. He was in charge of organizing the 1961 rendition hosted by Torquay in Devonshire, England. As European champions that British team finished third in the 1962 Bermuda Bowl held in New York City. The 1961 European teams was his only international championship.
According to Maureen Hiron, bridge columnist for The Independent of London, in New York City "he fell in love with one of the scorers, in particular, and America in general, and decided to cross the Atlantic."
Richard L. Frey, the American Contract Bridge League publications director, recruited Truscott to help edit the ACBL's membership magazine and its Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, whose first edition was underway. Truscott moved to New York City, then the ACBL headquarters, and succeeded Albert Morehead as bridge editor of the New York Times 1 January 1964. Frey, Truscott, and the editorial board led by Morehead completed the first Encyclopedia later that year.
Alan Truscott had three children Frances, Fraser and Philip with his first wife Gloria Gilling. That marriage was dissolved 1971 (Hiron) and in 1972 he married the American bridge expert and internationalist Dorothy Hayden, born Johnson, a former math teacher and actuary, who had four children from two previous marriages.(Alder)
Dorothy Truscott continued to compete at the highest levels after their marriage, winning all four of her world championships and achieving the world number one rank among women.(Alder) She had written "two best-selling bridge books" in 1969 and 1970 and they later wrote two books together.
Alan Truscott wrote thirteen books himself. He died of cancer at their vacation home in New Russia, New York, near Lake Champlain. Mrs. Truscott died the following year.
Dorothy was one of the original accusers in the Buenos Aires affair, when the accused were Alan's 1951 and 1958 British teammates Reese–Schapiro.
As New York Times correspondent Truscott covered the 1965 contract bridge world championship Bermuda Bowl in Buenos Aires and became the chief witness for the prosecution in a cheating scandal.
Reese and Schapiro, representing Europe after another British success at that level, were accused of using their fingers to pass information about their cards. The accusers were American partnership B. Jay Becker and Dorothy Hayden, the latter a close friend of Truscott's, later his wife.
They were subsequently judged guilty by the World Bridge Federation authorities at the tournament in Buenos Aires. The British Bridge League (BBL) convened its own inquiry, and next year judged them not guilty by the "reasonable doubt" standard.
Both Truscott and Reese published books on the affair, The Great Bridge Scandal and The Story of an Accusation.
Truscott, Alan.[1] "Bridge (Card Game)". Index of 6587 articles in the New York Times, earliest 19 Feb 1981; by Alan Truscott through 5 Mar 2005. — Confirmed 2010-04-02. There are 6532 hits for "Alan Truscott" and 6272 for "by Alan Truscott". (Phillip Alder continues the "Bridge" column so its number of hits increases.) He estimated that his byline appeared more than 12000 times.
Alan Truscott wrote 13 books on bridge and two more with his second wife Dorothy Truscott.
Teach Yourself Basic Bidding (1976-77) with Dorothy Truscott.
The New York Times Bridge Book (2002) with Dorothy Truscott, ISBN 031229090X (paperback) ISBN 031233107X (hardback)
