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James Jacoby James Jacoby Uploaded system   ORANGE CLUB

Robert Hamman Bob Hamman Uploaded system   ORANGE CLUB

                                        Uploaded system  HAMWAY club

SOURCE: ACBL Dictionary

A full time professional bridge team, organized in 1968 by Dallas financier Ira Corn for the express purpose of returning the world team championship to the United States.

Corn selected six players from among America's leading young experts, paying each a salary, plus tournament expenses, to undertake a full-time career of studying and playing bridge. He started with James Jacoby and Bobby Wolff, and shortly thereafter added Billy Eisenberg, Bobby Goldman and Mike Lawrence. Robert Hamman joined the team in 1969. Monroe Ingberman, mathematican and bridge writer, worked with the Aces as their first coach. In mid-1968 retired Air-Force Colonel Joseph Musumeci was added as trainer and coach. The team was incorporated as the U.S. Aces, but was popularly known as the Dallas Aces and later simply as the Aces.
Paul Soloway Paul Soloway  Uploaded system  HAMWAY club

Robert Goldman Bobby Goldman

 Using a computer to analyze results and to generate specific sets of hands to provide practice in given areas of the game - slam hands, preemptive openings, etc. - the Aces spent 50-60 hours a week perfecting the bidding systems and discussing problems encountered at the table. Complete records of all hands played were compiled for for critical analysis. From the intensive study and anlysis emerged various bidding styles including the ORANGE CLUB, used by Wolf and Jacoby; the similar BLACK CLUB, used by Hamman and Eisenberg; and the ACES SCIENTIFIC SYSTEM, used by Goldman and Lawrence. Besides competing in North AmericanChampionships and Regional knock-out team-of-four contests, the Aces also engaged many of America's top experts in practice matches in Dallas and staged a series of exhibition matches. See Sharif Bridge Circus.
Bobby Wolff  Bobby Wolff  Uploaded system   ORANGE CLUB

In 1969, the team achieved the first major goal set by Corn by winning the Spingold Knockout Teams and later a playoff match that earned the Aces the right to represent North America in the 1970 Bermuda Bowl in Stockholm, Sweden. With the BLUE TEAM retired, the Aces returned the Bermuda Bowl to North America for the first time since 1954. The Aces successfully defended their world title in 1971. See WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS.
Alan Sontag Alan Sontag  Uploaded system   Power Precision

Peter Weichel Peter Weichsel  Uploaded system   Power Precision

In 1971 Eisenberg left the team and was replaced by by Paul Soloway. By June of 1972 the team had become a part-time effort, with the players being paid only their expenses rather than salaries. Thereafter the makeup of the Aces began to change. In 1972 the Aces were runner-up to Italy in the Team Olympiad. Jacoby-Wolff played the Orange Club; Hamman-Soloway, the Green Club and Goldman-Lawrence, Standard American with special treatments. In early 1973 Soloway was replaced by Mark Blumenthal. The Aces were second to Italy in the Bermuda Bowl, playing as two threesomes; Wolff-Hamman-Jacoby playing Aces Club and Goldman-Lawrence-Blumenthal playing Standard American with special treatments. Soon thereafter Lawrence and Jacoby left the team and were replaced by Eric Murray and Sami Kehela. In 1974 the Aces were second to Italy with Hamman-Wolff playing the Aces Club, Blumenthal-Goldman, Aces Scientific, and Kehela-Murray, Colonial Acol.
 Fred Hamilton In 1975 Eddie Kantar and John Swanson made their first appearences in international play with the Aces and Soloway-Eisenberg were back on the team. The Aces were second to Italy in the Bermuda Bowl and the team was Hamman-Wolff(Aces Club); Eisenberg-Kantar, Soloway-Swanson(Standard American with special treatments).

In 1976 North America did not fare well in the Team Olympiad, but won the Bermuda Bowl. On the team were two former Aces - Soloway and Eisenberg.
Billy Eisenberg Billy Eisenberg

Ira Rubin  Ira Rubin 

The Aces won the 1977 Bermuda Bowl as Zone 2 representatives, and another team from North America finished second. Playing for the Aces once again were Hamman-Wolff, Soloway-Swanson and Eisenberg-Kantar. In 1979 four ex-Aces won the Bermuda Bowl in Rio on team captained by Malcolm Brachman(Eisenberg, Goldman, Kantar, Soloway). The next year in the 1980 World Team Olympiad , Corn captained the Aces to second place behind France. His team was Hamman-Wolf, still playing the Aces Club; Soloway-Ira Rubin(standard American with special treatments) and Fred Hamilton-Mike Passell (five card majors, two-over-one game force). In 1981 for the first time in many years no Ace or former Ace was present on the U.S. international team.
Michael Lawrence Michael Lawrence

Edwin Kantar Eddie Kantar

In the fall of 1981 Corn put together one more Aces-team. He had great hopes for Hammn-Wolff(the only players to remain constantly with the Aces throughout a 13 year period), Alan Sontag-Peter Weichsel and Mike Becker-Ronnie Rubin. Just three months after Corn's sudden death of a heart attack in April, 1982, the Aces won the Spingold in Alberquerque and qualified for the International Team Trials in Minneapolis that November.

Hamman, in summing up the history and the victory of this Aces team, reported: "Just say that we won for big Ira." The Aces name stuck with them. In the Minneapolis trials, which they won, they were known as the Aces and their non-playing captain was Joe Musumeci.

From that point on the Aces Team as such disappeared into history. But members of the team continued to have many successes. Hamman and Wolff headed the WBF rankings in 1992. Lawrence and Kantar are profilic bridge authors. Soloway became the first player to break the 40.000-point barrier in 1994, Jacoby was a syndicated bridge columnist.