Hans Rosendorff

Many will have recently played at Melville in the H G Rosendorff congress but may may not know the enormous contribution he made to Western Australian and Australian bridge. A master player, he began his bridge career in WA in 1939, and won most open events including the Open Teams in 1961, 1964, 1969, 1971 and 1973. He won the mens’ Pairs in 1962, 1974 and 1975 with his son Nigel as well as many other pairs events; he represented the state 11 times. He was the first Western Australian to win a national title, winning the ANC in 1965 and 1966. Hans had success internationally including competing in the World Open Team Olympiad in 1976. He remains the most successful non-playing captain for Australia - mens’ and womens’ teams. Hans had a certain style about his captaincy and spoke fearlessly - but always with a focus on improving players’ bridge. Hans was a passionate advocate for the promotion of bridge nationally.

He wrote the first bridge column in The West in 1964, was a dedicated administrator, fought hard to support womens’ events and wrote widely about bridge.

Significantly, Hans’ wife Joan would always attend on the final day of the H. G. Rosendorff Congress (when it was a Friday night and all day Saturday and Sunday) for the Teams Event to present the trophies to the winning team, until the day she died.

Truly two leviathans of the game.

 Published in November 2021 Edition of Trumps Plus