TheWhitehead Women's Pairs bridge championship is held at the springAmerican Contract Bridge League (ACBL)North American Bridge Championship (NABC).
The Whitehead Women's Pairs is a four-sessionmatchpoint (MP) pairs event with two qualifying and two final sessions. The event typically starts on the second Thursday of the NABC and is restricted to female players.
The Whitehead Women's Pairs is an event for partnerships consisting of two female players. There are two qualifying sessions, followed by two final sessions. The contest was held annually at the Summer North American Bridge Championship until 1962. That was changed the following year and subsequently contested at the Spring North American Bridge Championship.
At stake is the Whitehead Trophy, donated in 1930 byWilbur Whitehead of New York, a great bridge authority and a member of the team that won theVanderbilt Cup in 1928, the first year it was in play. Whitehead (1866–1931) was president of the Simplex Automobile Company, but bridge held such a fascination for him that he retired from business in 1910 to devote his life to bridge. He was the inventor of many bidding and play conventions, the quick-trick table of card values, the Whitehead system of requirements for original bids and responses and the Whitehead table of preferential leads. Whitehead was instrumental in standardizing procedures in auction bridge and later in contract bridge.
No Women's Pairs champion has defended its title in more than 50 years, but four early winners did so on seven occasions: 1939, 1942–43, 1948, 1956–58. The four-time winners from 1955 to 1958 wereKay Rhodes andMargaret Wagar.
| Year | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Olive Peterson, Maud Zontlein | Josephine Culbertson, Elinor Murdoch |
| 1931 | Vivi Hanson, Elinor Murdoch | Mary Clement, Olga Hilliard |
| 1932 | Mrs. Jay S. Jones,Olive Peterson | Florence Fitch, Maud S. Zontlein |
| 1933 | Doris Fuller, Mrs. Courtand Smith | Marie Black, Mary Clement |
| 1934 | Helen Bonwit,Helen White | Ruth Sherman, Mrs. Thomas Stern |
| 1935 | Bertine Teichman, Mable Ulbrich | Doris Fuller,Olive Peterson |
| 1936 | Mrs. Jay S. Jones,Sally Young | Mable Ervin,Doris Fuller |
| 1937 | Mable Ervin,Doris Fuller | Martha Lemon, Mrs. Martin R. West |
| 1938 | Helen Sobel,Sally Young | Phyllis Gardner, Dorothy Roberts |
| 1939 | Helen Sobel,Sally Young | Doris Fuller, Millicent Tansill |
| 1940 | Edith Atkinson, Mrs. John Waidlich | Estelle Drescher, Gussie Planco |
| 1941 | Mae P. Rosen,Edith Seligman | Ruth Horn, Gussie Planco |
| 1942 | Mae P. Rosen,Edith Seligman | Helen Bonwit, Mrs. D. P. Hanson |
| 1943 | Mae P. Rosen,Edith Seligman | Olga Hilliard, Evelyn Lebhar |
| 1944 | Ruth Sherman,Margaret Wagar | Paula Bacher,Kay Rhodes |
| 1945 | Peggy Golder,Olive Peterson | Ruth Sherman,Margaret Wagar |
| 1946 | Edith Seligman,Sally Young | Anne Burnstein, Mrs. G. Rosenbaum |
| 1947 | Gratian Goldstein, Josephine Gutman | Ruth Sherman,Helen Sobel |
| 1948 | Gratian Goldstein, Josephine Gutman | Mildred Cunningham, Mrs. Harry Mason Smith |
| 1949 | Kay Rhodes,Ruth Sherman | Mildred Cunningham, Mrs. Harry Mason Smith |
| 1950 | Mrs. John Kelly, Dorothy Thompson | Reba Buck, Mrs. George P. Ryan |
| 1951 | Alwina M. Dunphy, Mrs. Edward Minear | Mrs. Frank Fooshe, Mrs. Henry C. Wolfe |
| 1952 | Shirley Fairchild, Elaine Lee | Mildred Betzler, Mrs. Michael Hoffman |
| 1953 | Mrs. Harold P. Swearingen, Barbara Weiner | Gretchen Feldstein,Gratian Goldstein |
| 1954 | Margaret Alcorn, Sally Neely | Paula Levin, Mrs. Max Ritter |
| 1955 | Kay Rhodes,Margaret Wagar | Mrs. Carl I. Conklin, Paula Nevins |
| 1956 | Kay Rhodes,Margaret Wagar | Wynne Ecker, Mrs. P. Halbestadt |
| 1957 | Kay Rhodes,Margaret Wagar | Edith Kemp, Terry Michaels |
| 1958 | Kay Rhodes,Margaret Wagar | Mrs. N.L. Cassibry, Ann Smith |
| 1959 | Betty Adler,Dorothy Hayden | Agnes Gordon, Sylvia Schwartz |
| 1960 | Mary Jane Farell,Peggy Solomon | Mabel Mahoney, Betty Ann Welch |
| 1961 | Agnes Gordon, Betty Haddad | Mrs. Seymour Keith,Rita Seamon |
| 1962 | Clarice Holt, Mrs. Greeley Warner | Kay Carter, Mrs. G.M. Sharum |
| After 1962, the event was moved from the summer NABC to the spring NABC. | ||
| 1963 | Mrs. K. L. Sargent, Mrs. Ray Tobin | Garner McDaniel, Terry Michaels |
| 1964 | Margaret Alcorn, Lucille Patterson | Ruth Ballantyne, Mrs. Lloyd Scott |
| 1965 | Nancy Gruver,Sue Sachs | Alicia Kempner,Helen Sobel |
| 1966 | Virginia Heckel,Edith Kemp | Garner McDaniel, Terry Michaels |
| 1967 | Garner McDaniel, Terry Michaels | Hermine Baron,Marilyn Johnson |
| 1968 | Hermine Baron,Rhoda Walsh | 2/3.Emma Jean Hawes,Dorothy Hayden 2/3. Gloria Cohen, Belle Kauffman |
| 1969 | Gale Clarke, Gloria Noszka | Sallie Johnson, Bee Schenken |
| 1970 | Robin Klar, Tina Rockaway | Jacqui Mitchell,Gail Moss |
| 1971 | Amalya Kearse,Jacqui Mitchell | Barbara Brier, Betsey Wolff |
| 1972 | Kerri Davis,Rhoda Walsh | Gail Moss,Judi Solodar |
| 1973 | Ann Economidy, Vivian Williamson | Mary Anderson, Pamela Eckard |
| 1974 | Pat Leary,Jan Stansby | Jacqui Mitchell,Gail Moss |
| 1975 | Jacqui Mitchell,Gail Moss | Hermine Baron, Carol Greenhut |
| 1976 | Gail Schaab, Barbara Staton | Emma Jean Hawes,Dorothy Truscott |
| 1977 | Jacqui Mitchell,Gail Moss | Hermine Baron, Beverly Rosenberg |
| 1978 | Babs Charney, Flo Rotman | Edith Kemp, Barbara Rappaport |
| 1979 | Anne Burnstein,Edith Kemp | Ann Roberts, Genne Winter |
| 1980 | Mildred Boyce, Barbara Norwood | Hermine Baron, Beverly Rosenberg |
| 1981 | Emma Jean Hawes,Dorothy Truscott | Roberta Epstein, Rozanne Marel |
| 1982 | Hermine Baron, Beverly Rosenberg | Nancy Alpaugh, Betsey Wolff |
| 1983 | Evelyn Levitt,Jo Morse | Lynne Pollenz,Sue Picus |
| 1984 | Judy Tucker,Jacqui Mitchell | Mildred Breed, Barbara Norwood |
| 1985 | Dale Dermer, JoAnne Caplan | Nadine Wood, Robin Taylor |
| 1986 | Edith Freilich,Nancy Gruver | Peggy Sutherlin, Sharon Osberg |
| 1987 | Tobi Deutsch,Kay Schulle | Carlyn Steiner, Janet Daling |
| 1988 | Sally Wheeler, Georgiana Gates | Jan Martel,Dorothy Truscott |
| 1989 | Nadine Wood, Jeanne Elkner | Janice Seamon,Rita Seamon |
| 1990 | Tobi Deutsch, June Deutsch | Carol Sanders,Betty Ann Kennedy |
| 1991 | Leslie Paryzer, Nancy Widman | Claire Tornay, Kathie Walvick |
| 1992 | Cheri Bjerkan,Janice Seamon | Carol Sanders,Betty Ann Kennedy |
| 1993 | Carol Sanders,Betty Ann Kennedy | Shawn Womack, Jan Cohen |
| 1994 | Corinne Kirkham, Ann Kluewer | Bernace DeYoung, Ellasue Chaitt |
| 1995 | Lila Perlstein,Juanita Chambers | Ayako Amano, Miho Sekizawa |
| 1996 | Nancy Widman, Leslie Paryzer | Susan Wexler,Margie Gwozdzinsky |
| 1997 | Susan Wexler,Margie Gwozdzinsky | Suzy Burger, Barbara Sion |
| 1998 | Judi Radin, Valerie Westheimer | Carol Simon,Kitty Munson |
| 1999 | Harriet Eaton, Ellen Crawford | Mildred Breed,Shawn Quinn |
| 2000 | Joan Stein,Eunice Rosen | Marilyn Hemenway, Barbara Fellows |
| 2001 | Judi Radin,Sylvia Moss | Tobi Sokolow,Janice Seamon-Molson |
| 2002 | Cheri Bjerkan, Sue Weinstein | Kerri Sanborn,Karen McCallum |
| 2003 | Joan Eaton, Candace Griffey | Connie Goldberg,JoAnn Sprung |
| 2004 | Jacqui Mitchell,Amalya Kearse | Cynthia Balderson, Carole Miner |
| 2005 | Gail Greenberg, Laurie Vogel | Helen Abbott, Polly Dunn |
| 2006 | Sylvia Moss,Judi Radin | Cathy Strauch,Margie Gwozdzinsky |
| 2007 | Irina Ladyzhensky, Kamla Chawla | Valerie Westheimer,Migry Zur Campanile |
| 2008 | Lynne Feldman, Chris Benson | Diane Walker, Mickie Kivel |
| 2009 | Lisa Berkowitz,Joann Glasson | Hjördis Eythorsdottir, Valerie Westheimer |
| 2010 | Suzy Burger, Linda Lewis | Victoria Gromova, Tatiana Ponomareva |
| 2011 | Marjorie Michelin, Diana Schuld | Sylvia Moss,Judi Radin |
| 2012 | Georgiana Gates, Patricia Norman | Linda Lewis,Joann Glasson |
| 2013 | Joanne Weingold, Jan Assini | Irina Ladyzhensky, Kamla Chawla |
| 2014 | Ran Jingrong, Wenfei Wang | Kitty Cooper, Lynne Feldman |
| After 2014, the event was moved from the spring NABC to the fall NABC. | ||
| 2015 | Emily Harrell, Benedicte Cronier | Linda Lewis, Jean Barry |
| 2016 | Shawn Quinn, Nancy Passell | Gigi Simpson, Gen Geiger |
| 2017 | Katarzyna Dufrat, Justyna Zmuda | Nancy Passell, Petra Hamman |
| 2021 | Heather Dhondy, Maggie Knottenbelt | Linda Perlman, Kristen Onsgard |
| 2024 | Kristen Onsgard, Nancy Passell | Anam Tebha, Christina Parker |