David
Boys won the 1995 World Scrabble Championships
in London representing Canada. A 5-time Canadian WSC participant,
he works as a programmer/analyst in Montreal.
Alfred Mosher Butts invented the game
that would become Scrabble in 1931. An unemployed architect
at the time, he toiled for many years before discovering
the magic formula that would sell over 100 million sets
worldwide. He studied the letter frequency from the New
York Times’ front page to determine Scrabble’s
letter distribution. Oddly enough, he was not especially
good at Scrabble. Butts was widely revered by Scrabble
players around the globe at the time of his death 1993.
Brian
Cappelletto is an options trader in Chicago and
perennial favorite in any Scrabble tournament that he
enters. The first child Scrabble prodigy, he finished
in second place at the 1991 World Scrabble Championships.
Known for his extraordinary word knowledge (and spot-on
impersonations), he is a fierce competitor who won the
1998 National Scrabble Championships in his hometown.
He is fond of using his Scrabble skills to win bar bets.
James Cherry is one of the many smart
computer guys who seem to be everywhere at the World Scrabble
Championships. Twice he competed for Canada at the WSC
and has created a very slick Scrabble computer program
that none of us reg’lar folks could even dream of
beating.
Chris
Cree is known for occasionally cracking up a
roomful of Scrabble players with his good-natured complaining
when he pulls bad tiles. A solid Texan, Cree dabbles in
real estate and works in the wholesale forklift business.
Incredibly, he won $256,000 gambling in Las Vegas during
breaks from the 1995 Scrabble Superstars Showdown. When
asked which he would have rather won, the $256K gambling
or the $50K Scrabble Grand Prize, he replied that he wanted
the glory that only a Scrabble championship could bring.
Joe
Edley is the only 3-time winner of the National
Scrabble Championships (no one else has won it more than
once). Often seen practicing tai-chi or meditating in
between games, Edley is the Zen Scrabble Master. He doubles
as the National Scrabble Association’s Director
of Clubs and Tournaments and co-authored (with NSA Executive
Director John D. Williams, Jr.) the seminal book on Scrabble
strategy and tips Everything Scrabble.
Paul
Epstein is a former musician/cab driver from
Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is currently studying for his
Masters in Social Work at the University of Michigan.
A regular on the Scrabble circuit for many years, Epstein
gave “GI” Joel Sherman his nickname and finished
5th at the 2002 National Scrabble Championships in San
Diego.
Stefan
Fatsis writes for the Wall Street Journal and
is a correspondent for National Public Radio. His humorous
and insightful book Word Freak details the Scrabble subculture
and his multi-year climb from novice to expert Scrabble
player.
Robert
Felt, a six-time Team USA member at the World
Scrabble Championships, won the 1990 National Scrabble
Championship. Known for his extraordinary word knowledge
and encyclopedic knowledge of past games, Felt was always
a formidable opponent. He passed away in December of 2002.
He is missed.
Marty Gabriel is a Scrabble
expert and social worker for the Chicago Public Schools.
Among his Scrabble achievements are several games in which
he has scored in excess of 700 points. Gabriel takes pleasure
by intimidating opponents by drinking vinegar straight
from the bottle during games.
Jim
Geary Scrabble resume includes a 6th place finish
at the 1998 National Scrabble Championships and thrice
representing the United States at the World Scrabble Championships.
Geary gambles professionally for a living and is quick
to crack wise.
Matt
Graham is a stand-up comedian comedy writer in
New York City. He has worked for Saturday Night Live and
has done several stints on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
His creative wordplay and expert timing makes his comedy
a refreshing alternative to most comedians on television
today. An uncompromising competitor, Graham loves to shoot
hoops and play Scrabble for extra cash. He finished second
in the 1997 World Scrabble Championships.
Jim Kramer is one of the
few Scrabble experts who earns a living with words. A
true gentleman, Kramer is a proofreader in Minnesota and
finished third in the 2001 World Scrabble Championships.
Mark
“Mr. 770” Landsberg, a retired game
inventor from Orange County, California, is best known
in the Scrabble world for scoring a record 770 points
in a tournament game in 1993. His intrepid friend Alan
Stern (best-known as the “King of the One-Liners)
served as his unknowing victim. Their combined 1108 points
is still a record (as is Landsberg’s 770).
Ben Loiterstein
cable access show, Scrabble TV, ruled the Boston-area
airwaves from 1998-2001. He is an educator and once played
12 simultaneous games of Scrabble.
Robin Pollock Daniel has represented Team Canada
at the World Scrabble Championships four times. Exceedingly
funny and trained as a psychologist, Daniel raises two
children with her husband in Toronto.
Lester Schonbrun played Scrabble at the legendary
Flea House in New York City in the 1960s when folks such
as chess champion Walter Browne, Stanley Kubrick and Peter
Falk frequented the joint. Extremely well-liked and respected
by his Scrabble peers, Schonbrun is a legal secretary
in Oakland by day and an avowed communist.
“GI”
Joel Sherman is perhaps the world’s only
professional Scrabble player. He won the 1997 World Scrabble
Championship in Washington, D.C. and the 2002 National
Scrabble Championship in San Diego. Legendary for his
physical ailments, Sherman is the poster-boy for making
lemonade out of lemons by achieving Scrabble greatness
after his many illnesses forced his retirement from bank-telling.
Allan Simmons is a Scrabble consultant
from Scotland. He is the brains behind the UK-based Scrabble
newsletter ONWORDS and has played in the WSC twice.
Charnwit
Sukhumrattanaporn is one of the many players
from Thailand who can throw down tiles with the best of
them - American, Canadian, British or other. Charnwit,
a student who plays Scrabbleto help learn English, finished
second at the prestigious 2001 United States West Coast
Championships.
John D. Williams, Jr.
Executive Director
National Scrabble Association
Often referred to as "Mister Scrabble" by word
game enthusiasts, the media and the manufacturer of the
game, John D. Williams, Jr. has been head of the10,000
member National SCRABBLE Association since 1987. Mr. Williams
is also a tournament player and co-author of "EVERYTHING
SCRABBLE" (Simon & Shuster), considered the definitive
book on the world's favorite word game. During his tenure,
Williams helped organize the first World Scrabble Championship,
doubled the Scrabble tournament scene in North America
and spearheaded the National School SCRABBLE Program,
now used as a learning tool in nearly 20,000 schools across
the country. He is a frequent lecturer on words and language.
Williams also works as a writer/producer for televison
and film, having worked for MTV Networks, Nickelodeon,
TV Land, Paramount and others.
