Smith was inducted into the ACBL Hall of Fame in 1995, when the League established that honor by adding eight names to a list of nine whom The Bridge World had recognized in the 1960s. She was then the only woman among the 17. Her Hall of Fame citation paraphrases and quotes The Bridge World editor and publisher Edgar Kaplan: "Helen's style was frisky and aggressive – so aggressive that 'some of her male partners were intimidated. These guys felt they were playing in the Mixed Pairs and they were the girl." "In my lifetime", the citation also quotes Kaplan, "she is the only woman bridge player who was considered the best player in the world. She knows how to play a hand." Anecdote Bridge accomplishments Honors ACBL Hall of Fame, 1995 Awards McKenney Trophy 1941, 1942, 1944 Fishbein Trophy 1958 Wins North American Bridge Championships (35) Vanderbilt (2) 1944, 1945 Spingold (5) 1944, 1947, 1951, 1956, 1960 Chicago (now Reisinger) (4) 1941, 1943, 1950, 1957 Master Mixed Teams (6) 1941, 1943, 1944, 1948, 1954, 1968 Women's Board-a-Match Teams (7) 1935, 1936, 1939, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946 Life Master Pairs (2) 1942, 1958 Fall National Open Pairs (3) 1940, 1947, 1948 Rockwell Mixed Pairs (2) 1955, 1956 Hilliard Mixed Pairs (1) 1944 Women's Pairs (3) 1934, 1938, 1939 Runners-up IBL World Championship (1) 1937 Bermuda Bowl (1) 1957 North American Bridge Championships (31) Vanderbilt (7) 1942, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1962 Spingold (2) 1943, 1950 Chicago (now Reisinger) (2) 1944, 1951 Master Mixed Teams (4) 1946, 1949, 1950, 1951 Women's Board-a-Match Teams (10) 1937, 1941, 1942, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 Life Master Pairs (1) 1953 Fall National Open Pairs (1) 1938 Hilliard Mixed Pairs (2) 1933, 1940 Women's Pairs (2) 1947, 1965 Publications All the Tricks New York: Greenberg, 1949, 245 pp. – "With post-mortems by Charles H. Goren and Howard Dietz." British edition, Winning Bridge (London: P. Davies, 1950), All the Tricks Revised edition, All the Tricks (New York: Cornerstone Library, 1961), 186 pp. – " 'I find I had to do very little changing or revising or updating.'—Foreword." References External links Helen Sobel Smith at Bridgebum.com 1909 births 1969 deaths Writers from Philadelphia American contract bridge players Bermuda Bowl players Contract bridge writers American female dancers Dancers from Pennsylvania Vaudeville performers 20th-century American dancers 20th-century American women