Gone but not Forgotten – The William Keohane New England Regional Individual

For more than 70 years – before the event was discontinued due to poor attendance - the Individual was a big part of New England bridge history. The New England Open Individual Bridge Championships were first held in 1945 at the University Club in Boston. From its inception until the late 1950’s, the Individual was a relatively small invitational event with between 20 and 40 tables in play.
The bridge wasn’t great, but the University Club offered a great steak dinner for only $2.50!

In 1961, a great transformation took place. William Keohane (1896-1972) was a consulting engineer, bridge teacher and bridge administrator who took over the promotion of the event and working with other well known bridge personalities of the day (Frank Westcott, Larry Weiss, Dr. Sid Cohen, Owen Rye, and Henry Francis to name just a few), he built this into the largest individual in the world. William Keohane was elected in 1972 to serve as the first District Director of the newly created District 25 (New England). He died later that year – just before he was to attend his first ACBL board meeting.

The Individual has special significance for Mark Aquino - the current Region 2 Director (D25 and D24). Mark won the Individual twice – in 1978 and 24 years later in 2002. When Mark won the event for the first time, it was his first ever Regional victory. It was a 4 session event held in the luxurious Copley Plaza in downtown Boston. It had over 600 entries, paid more than 40 Gold points – and $75 worth of S&H green stamps! In addition, this win was heralded in the March 1978 ACBL Bulletin with a full page article– it really was a big deal! The irony was that this win earned Mark his first ever qualification to compete in the prestigious Blue Ribbon Pairs – without a partner! Mark was thrilled when his good friend and frequent partner, Randolph (“Randy”) Johnson, of Bluffton, SC and Hadley MA won the Individual in 2005.

With the increasing age of our membership and the decline in tournament attendance since the pandemic, there has been increasing difficulty for players to find partners and there has recently been renewed interest in reviving individual tournaments. The Individual will probably never return to anywhere near its highest participation nor match the interest, excitement and participation that William Keohane provided. Nevertheless, there are many who believe – just as they did when it was first played at the University Club in Boston – that to not bring back individuals would be a “big missed steak”!

Region 2 Director, Mark Aquino, who had been taking good care of the William Keohane Individual Trophy for the past 5 years passes the baton at the D25 Nashua Regional to 2005 Individual Winner, Randolf ("Randy) Johnson of Bluffton, SC and Hadley, MA.