Archival footage might be the closest that one can get to stepping into a time machine (until we officially know that one has been invented).

Many bridge games, events, and iconic matches have been immortalized in film clips and television episodes – and today, we get to view it. Thanks to the wonder of YouTube, contract bridge from the past is just a click away.

Would you like to know what bridge looked like in the ’20s, or what the game of contract bridge looked like played on the Atari? How about episodes of bridge TV shows of the past?

There happens to be a lot of bridge clips out there if you know where to look! If you have some in storage, I’d encourage you to upload and share what you’ve got.

Let’s take a stroll through archive footage from the world of bridge.

Atari archive: bridge

A lot of kids (and presumably, adults) grew up playing video games on an Atari system plugged into their home television. Here’s what their version of a bridge game looked like, with appropriate graphics for the time. What was your favourite Atari title?

Championship bridge: episode 1

Championship Bridge ran from 1959 to 1964, and it could be called a bridge classic. Featuring champion and bridge writer Charles Goren, this ABC bridge show is worth a watch – and episodes are rare. Thanks to the internet, you can view the first episode in full on YouTube.

Master bridge: episode 1

Master Bridge featured contract bridge on BBC, with a runtime of approximately 25 minutes per episode. If you’ve ever wanted to see bridge experts sharing a table and their thoughts on the great game, you will want to watch this. The first episode is available on YouTube, and more have been uploaded by the same user.

Omar Sharif sa passion pour le bridge

Omar Sharif is famous as both an actor and a bridge player – and he is one of very few people in the world known for being excellent at both. Here’s an archival short piece from Ina Sport (in French) with some footage of Sharif speaking about the game.

New York: the bridge battle

The Bridge Battle occurred in 1929, with two bridge bidding systems clashing against one another. It’s one of the most famous matches in bridge. Thanks to YouTube (and the people who were there to film it at the time), players can see the game in action at the above link.

The ACBL bridge museum (horn lake)

The ACBL Bridge Museum is home to bridge artefacts and other historical pieces related to the game. Thanks to user Sergei de Muller, here’s an archival view of the museum that includes some rare footage of the great bridge player Ely Culbertson.