B. Jay Becker; Won Two World Titles in Bridge

B. Jay Becker, considered one of the leading bridge players in the world, has died at his home in Flushing, Queens, New York.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Becker, who won two world championships for the U.S. Bermuda Bowl team and represented the United States on four other occasions, was 83 when he died Friday.

In all, he won 23 team titles in national tournaments, a record most bridge experts believe will stand for some time.

With Dorothy Hayden, he won three major titles in pairs competition and also finished third with her in the 1966 World Pair Championship in Amsterdam.

A lawyer by profession, Becker had been intimately involved in the bridge world since he was a young man. In 1935, he was made No. 6 of the 10 life masters named by the American Contract Bridge League, becoming a grand master when the World Bridge Federation created that title.