BIG thanks - yet again - to Connie Nelson from St. Cloud! Connie has been superlative in sharing a wealth of wonderful stories about our game! This time? One of Minnesota's finest - and classiest - players: John Koch.
Enjoy!
Quite a number of our St. Cloud Bridge Club are over ninety years old. One evening, several of us “younger” players started guessing which of our players had been playing at the Club the longest. I thought it was going to be Rosie Mettenburg. I knew she started playing after retiring at age 55, almost 40 years ago. And, she still plays every Friday at Whitney -- you’ll find her sitting south at table number 5!
But, it turns out Rosie hasn’t been playing the longest. That honor goes to John Koch.
Many of you must know John Koch, as he is one of the highest ranked Master Point players in Minnesota. But, you may not know his back story. Here is what I found out:
John’s Mother taught John to play bridge when he was nine! His father had died that year, and it was something the two of them could do together. They lived in Milbank, SD and would play at the local duplicate game held every other Monday. A highlight for his Mother was when the two of them won the very first tournament they entered. For winning this two-session, non-life master event held in Aberdeen, they received a trophy over two feet tall. His Mother proudly displayed it.
Sadly, John’s Mother died six months after that tournament.
John, his Mom – and their trophies
The first time John played at the St. Cloud Bridge Club was in 1967. A junior at St. John’s University at the time, he simply called up the local Bridge director who was Paul Hoffman (later District Judge) and asked for a partner. John was lined up with a 50-year old homemaker named Dodie Schrafels. The two of them paired up for a while until John met another St John’s sophomore who played bridge. This Johnny was ---- Tony Ames.
During his sophomore year, Tony organized an ongoing bridge event at St. John’s which drew almost fifteen tables! Those games eventually withered away, but John and Tony ended up becoming roommates at college and partners at bridge. They would bring at least one or two tables of college “kids” to the St. Cloud club every week to play. So… while John is not the oldest player at our Club by a long shot, he started out when he was the youngest.
What was the St. Cloud Club like back in the 1960s? The games were played at one of the same locations we use today – that is, the lower level of the Labor Home, a building owned by the trade unions of St. Cloud. John describes going there as a college junior, “It wasn’t anything like it is today. The bar was open, and there were glasses of liquor at every table. And, everyone smoked! A layer of blue smoke just hovered.” He added, “In fact, it was so bad that after I was married, my wife made me undress in the garage and hang my clothes out there before coming in the house.”
John said another striking difference from today were the volatile arguments that used to break out at the tables. He added, “Today, that doesn’t happen -- unless it’s between the partners of Koch and Duffy!” He said that while arguments have lessened, what hasn’t changed is the ‘fierce competition’ here. He said there have always been great players – from Al Brink, the Chair of the Math Dept at SCSU “who was 150% into bridge,” to Clara Henning “a diminutive housewife with killer instincts.”
My last question to John was what bridge has meant to him in his life. He answered that he’s had wonderful partners with whom he’s enjoyed going up against some of the best teams in the world, and sometimes beating them.
“There have been times,” he said, “where my partner and I have played a regional a week, stopping on Sunday and starting again on Tuesday. Sometimes, we’ve played every day for thirteen days straight.” He encouraged any player to simply play, go to tournaments and build that confidence that they can compete.
“Because,” he ended, “just when you think you are totally exhausted, a hand will make you feel like you’ve caught lightning in a bottle! That is the beauty of Bridge.”
Nice. Love this story. Would like others like it. John is not only a great player, but a joy to both play with.
He is also one of the most humble and engaging opponents!
Posted by: Paul Meerschaert | November 18, 2019 at 11:50 PM
Great story about a great guy.
Posted by: GREG CAUCUTT | November 19, 2019 at 09:16 PM