Albert Hodges Morehead

Albert Hodges Morehead, Jr. (August 7, 1909 – October 5, 1966) was a writer for The New York Times, a bridge player, a lexicographer, and an author and editor of reference works.[1][2][3]

Albert Hodges Morehead
Morehead c. 1940–1950
Born
Albert Hodges Morehead, Jr.

(1909-08-07)August 7, 1909
Taylor County, Georgia, USA
DiedOctober 5, 1966(1966-10-05) (aged 57)
Manhattan, New York City
Occupation(s)Encyclopedist, bridge writer
Spouse
Loy Claudon
​
(m. 1939)​
Children
Parents
  • Albert Hodges Morehead I (1854–1922)
  • Bianca Noa (1874–1945)
RelativesLoveman Noa, uncle

Early years

Morehead was born in Flintstone, Taylor County, Georgia on August 7, 1909, to Albert Hodges Morehead I (1854–1922) and Bianca Noa (1874–1945). Albert senior was a choral conductor.[3] Bianca's brother was Loveman Noa, the Naval hero. Albert's siblings were: Kerenhappuch Turner Morehead (1905–1907) who died as an infant; and James Turner Morehead (1906–1988). His parents lived in Lexington, Kentucky, but were spending their summer in Georgia at the time of his birth. The family moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, after the death of Albert's father in 1922 in Baylor County, Texas.

He attended the Baylor School and later Harvard University. In 1939, Albert Morehead married Loy Claudon (1910–1970) of Illinois, and the couple had two children: Philip David Morehead (b. 1942) and Andrew Turner Morehead (b. 1940). He was a noted bridge partner of U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower.[4]

Journalism

Through high school and college, Morehead worked on the Lexington Herald (now the Herald-Leader), the Chattanooga Times, the Chicago Daily News, The Plain Dealer, and the Town Crier of Newton, Massachusetts. He later worked for The New York Times.

In 1944 he published 36 articles, under four pseudonyms, in Redbook magazine, and in 1951 published 29 articles in Cosmopolitan' magazine. From 1945 to 1947, he was the puzzle and quiz editor for Coronet magazine and was the consulting editor for games in Esquire magazine. Starting in 1946 he was a consultant to the United States Playing Card Company, and he was vice president and general manager of Kem Plastic Playing Cards, Inc. for three years.

He was author, co-author or editor of over 60 books, including books on games and puzzles, and a number of reference works, some of which are still in print. He edited W. Somerset Maugham's Great Novelists and their Novels (Winston, 1948) and Fulton Oursler's The Greatest Story Ever Told (Doubleday, 1949).

Finally, he served as Vice-president of the John C. Winston Company, a book publisher, for three years.[4]

Bridge

Bridge was a lifelong pursuit for Morehead. From 1927 on, he played in bridge tournaments, and in 1932, during the depression he was hired as a writer for Ely Culbertson's magazine, The Bridge World. In 1938 he was made editor, and in 1939 he became the general manager of all of Culbertson's bridge publications. In 1934, he won the Charles M. Schwab Trophy, and served as both president and chairman of the board of the American Contract Bridge League. He later wrote The New York Times bridge column for more than 25 years.[4]

Publications
  • with Culbertson, Ely; Mott-Smith, Geoffrey (1950). Culbertson's Hoyle: The New Encyclopedia of Games, with Official Rules.
  • — (1964). Morehead on Bidding (1st ed.). New york: The MacMillan Company. LCCN 63-17309.
  • with Frey, Richard L. (1974). Morehead on Bidding (2nd ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. LCCN 73-21053. SBN 671-21699-6.

Death

Morehead died of cancer in 1966 in Manhattan.[1]

Bridge accomplishments

Honors

Awards
  • IBPA Bridge Book of the Year 1966

Wins

Runners-up

References
  1. "Albert H. Morehead, 56, [sic] Dead; Ex-Bridge Editor of The Times. Championship Player Was Also Lexicographer and Encyclopedia Compiler". The New York Times. October 6, 1966. p. 47. Retrieved 2021-01-06. Albert H. Morehead, the contract bridge expert, encyclopedist and former bridge editor of The New York Times, died of cancer in Presbyterian Hospital yesterday. He was 56 [sic] years old and lived at 444 East 52d Street.
  2. "Morehead, Albert". Hall of Fame. ACBL. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2014-12-28. Albert Morehead of New York City, League official, bridge author, writer and editor in general fields. Officer and director United States Bridge Association when that organization amalgamated with the American Bridge League 1937. A governor of the ACBL 1937, president 1943, chairman of the Board 1943-45, Honorary. ...
  3. Current Biography. H.W. Wilson Company. 1954. ISBN 9780824201210. Albert Hodges Morehead was born on August 7, 1909, in Flintstone, Georgia, the son of Albert Hodges and Bianca (Noa) Hodges. His father, a choral conductor ...
  4. "A Tribute to Albert H. Morehead 1909–1966: Games expert and Lexicographer". patphil.com (daughter-in-law Patricia and son Philip Morehead). Retrieved 2007-08-21. Multiple pages with numerous reprints including some secondary sources.
      Quote: Albert Morehead, the six-foot-four, erudite panelist of CBS-TV's new audience participation series, "I'll Buy That", is one of those many-sided geniuses in cosmopolitan New York whose list of vocations and avocations is literally a yard long. He is a book editor, magazine writer, games authority, author, tunesmith, newspaper columnist, lexicographer, businessman, translator, amateur criminologist and a half dozen other lesser things besides.

Literature
  • Morehead, Albert and Geoffrey Mott-Smith (1950). Culbertson's Hoyle: The New Encyclopedia of Games, with Official Rules. Greystone Press.
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