American Contract Bridge League
Unit 484   District 20

Profile

Bob Scott

By Patty Duggan

(Published March 2007)

Bob Scott is one of the expert players among our bridge regulars at our clubs and tournaments. One almost expects to see his and his partner’s names at the top of the results printouts. But he is also one of the nicest bridge players in our groups---always cheerful, kind, respectful and unfailingly polite. Bob was a popular teacher of bridge techniques in the local SOLIR program for two years. He has taught at various times since he moved here in 1996 and is currently conducting a class on defense for eight weeks immediately before the game at Bill Holt’s club, which meets on Wednesdays.

Bob has been a teacher all his life. He started life in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. His family left there for the Los Angeles area when Bob was eleven years old. They were all happy to leave the snow and ice for sunny California. Bob graduated from high school in southern California and attended the University of California at Los Angeles, where he received his degree in English and History. He spent his entire career teaching many different subjects to special education children at the high school level. When he retired in 1996, he and wife, Jean, decided to move to the Rogue Valley and escape big city living. They had camped and traveled here many times and had fallen in love with the many opportunities in the area.

Bob met and married Jean 45 years ago. They have two children, Steve and Kristie. Steve is married and is a carpenter in southern California. Kristie is an engineer at Mattel Corporation. Jean, who was a librarian before she retired, has been a dedicated volunteer for the Tudor Guild for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival since the Scotts moved here.

Bob comes from a family who loved cards and games of all kinds, including bridge. Though Bob never found time to play bridge in college, he has played and studied the game since then. He joined the ACBL in 1980 and has amassed almost 3000 master points. He remembers two especially memorable tournaments that he and his partners won. One was a Regional event in Medford with partner Chuck Burton, and one was a Regional Senior Open in Seaside, Oregon, with partner Bob Valine.

Describing himself as an "outside kind of guy," Bob bikes every day, plays a lot of tennis and swims. He and Jean have traveled as far as Australia, and when I talked to him he and Jean were preparing to leave for a month in Palm Springs to warm up. Bob said the weather here at this time of year was giving him "cabin fever." He and Jean are also "cat people." Their current cat is named "Big Little."

We thank Bob for his many contributions to our organization. He has served on all our boards in the past, and he is always available to share what he knows about the game of bridge. In fact, Bob says that continuing our education programs in this area will keep our bridge clubs strong and viable. Bob states that he is "tickled that so many folks take on the task of teaching bridge to newcomers and members who want to improve their game." He cites Bernadine Lacy, Bob Fox and Don Provence among those who give unstintingly of their time and knowledge. We’ll add your name to that list, Bob.