Miss America 1923
Mary Katherine Campbell, Miss America 1923
DateSeptember 7, 1923
PresentersKing Neptune (Hudson Maxim)
VenueMillion Dollar Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Entrants75
Placements5
WinnerMary Katherine Campbell
N/A
Opening ceremony

Miss America 1923, was the third Miss America pageant, held at the Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday, September 7, 1923.[1][2]

At the conclusion of the event, King Neptune crowned the incumbent titleholder Mary Katherine Campbell as Miss America 1923. Campbell is the only Miss America to win the title twice.[3][4]

Contestants from 75 cities, states, and titles competed at the event. The event was presented by Hudson Maxim dressed as King Neptune.

Overview

Organization of pageant

The pageant consisted of four phases of competition: evening dress (called King Neptune's Court); roller chair parade, bathing girl revue, and the final.[5] There was no talent competition at this pageant (this would not become part of the Miss America competition until 1935).[6]

Judges

The panel of judges for the national pageant included film director, Penrhyn Stanlaws; painter, Joseph Cummings Chase; glamour artist, J. Knowles Hare; illustrator, Dean Cornwell; and painter and illustrator, Norman Rockwell.[7]

Aftermath

Soon after the conclusion of the pageant, numerous women clubs and church groups protested against any further beauty contests and, "[urged] that they be prohibited by law," and, "[denounced them] as vulgar, undignified 'and demoralizing to young womanhood."[8][9][10] One woman was quoted saying, " 'The beauty of our girls is too glorious, too sacred a thing to be put on exhibition like the freaks in a circus side show, to be commercialized and made the basis for all sorts of mercenary schemes.' "[8]

Another protest arose when Ethelda Kenvin, Miss Brooklyn, was named the 1st runner-up at the conclusion of the contest despite being married since 1921 to professional baseball player Eppie Barnes.[8] Some of her fellow contestants insisted that her placement and awards be revoked due to her marital status and violations of eligibility rules.[8] The judges' panel were made aware of this but ultimately decided to allow Kenvin to keep her prizes.[8]

Additionally, Helmar Liederman of New York filed suit against the contest directors, Armand T. Nichols and Harry L. Godshall, Sr., for $150,000 due to their refusal to allow her to enter the national competition as "Miss Alaska" because she was a married woman, despite being authorized to compete by a newspaper in Juneau, Alaska.[8]

Results

Placements

Placement Contestant
Miss America 1923
"Golden Mermaid"
1st Runner-Up
2nd Runner-Up
3rd Runner-Up
4th Runner-Up

Awards

Evening Dress Award

Award also referred to as "King Neptune's Court."[5]

Results Contestant
Winner
Runner-up

Roller Chair Parade

Awards Contestant
Grand Prize
Second Prize
Third Prize
Fourth Prize
Fifth Prize

Contestants

City / State / Title Name Age Notes
Akron Thelma Boyd[17]
Alaska Helmar Liederman[8][18] 24 Competed in Miss America 1922 pageant as Miss Alaska.[19]
Disqualified from 1923 pageant because she was married.[8][18]
Albany Peggy Ross[20]
Allentown, Pennsylvania Helen Noble[21]
Altoona, Pennsylvania Margaret Lillian Ross[20]
Asheville, North Carolina Rose Hildebrand[20]
Atlanta, Georgia Frances Thayer[20]
Baltimore, Maryland Billie Muller[20]
Binghamton, New York Bonita C. Bement[21] 19
Birmingham, Alabama Louise Newman[20]
Boston Boston, Massachusetts Margaret L. Black[20]
Bridgeton, New Jersey Sarah Delp[20]
Brighton Beach, New York Edithea Lois Wild[22] 15
Brooklyn, New York Ethelda Kenvin[20] 24 Married baseball player, E.D. Barnes, in 1921[8]
Buffalo, New York Irene Knight[20]
Burlington, Vermont Hazel Gove[20]
Cambridge, Massachusetts Doris Rowden George[23]
Camden, New Jersey Florence Nurock[23]
Cape May, New Jersey Mildred McCann[23]
Chicago Chicago, Illinois Corrine Dellefield[23]
Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio Olga Emrick[23] Later worked as a stenographer and was active with the "Anti-Flirt Club"[24]
Cleveland, Ohio Mary Jane Clark[23]
Columbus, Ohio Genevieve Mambourg[23]
Coney Island, New York Heather Eulalie Walker[14] Star of the lost musical film, Hit the Deck, opposite Jack Oakie[25]
Cumberland, Maryland Elizabeth Catherine Steele[26] 18
Detroit, Michigan Beth Madson[23] Also competed in Miss America 1922 pageant as Miss Detroit[27]
Easton, Pennsylvania Agnes Connelly[23]
Erie, Pennsylvania Dorothy Haupt[23] Also competed in Miss America 1922 pageant as Miss Easton[28]
Fort Worth, Texas Bessie Laurene Roosa[29]
Hammonton, New Jersey Alice Kind[23]
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Helen R. Knisely[30]
Jacksonville, Florida Alyce Phillips[21]
Johnstown, Pennsylvania Betty Grening[31]
Lakeland, Florida Mary Weaver[32]
Lebanon, Pennsylvania Grace Kohr[33]
Long Branch, New Jersey Elene Hicks[6] 19 Died of breast cancer in 1940 at age 38[6]
Louisville, Kentucky Juanita Hobbs[23]
Memphis, Tennessee Elizabeth Mallory[34]
Miami, Florida Katherine Kyle[35] Also known as "Katherine Newlon"[35]
Miss America 1921 C. Margaret Gorman[36] 18 Competed as Miss America 1921[36]
Miss America 1922 Mary Katherine Campbell[23] 16[9] Competed as Miss America 1922[23]
Only woman to win the national pageant twice[11]
New Bedford, Massachusetts Mildred Salisbury[21]
New Haven, Connecticut Helen Haddock[23]
New Jersey New Jersey Elizabeth McClure[37]
Alberta Dorothy Smith[37]
Elsie Banholzer[37]
New York City New York City, New York Peggy Verna Shevlin[23]
Niagara Falls, New York Nelda Tell[23]
Norristown, Pennsylvania Mildred Maconachy[38]
Ocean City, New Jersey Grace Taylor[39]
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Mary Deen Overly[40]
Pensacola, Florida Katherine Floyd[41][42]
Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Marion Green[43]
Portland, Maine Winona Evelyn Drew[30]
Portland, Oregon Patricia Smith[23]
Pottsville, Pennsylvania Isabel Lynch[21]
Providence, Rhode Island Loretta La Flamme[21]
Reading, Pennsylvania Jane Ondeck[44]
Richmond, Virginia Billie Gates[45]
Rochester, New York Reta Cowles[46]
St. Louis, Missouri Charlotte Nash[16] 17 Married millionaire and theatre magnate, Fred Nixon-Nirdlinger, twice[47][48]
Shot and killed Nixon-Nirdlinger in March 1931 in Nice, France[47][49]
Was acquitted after successfully arguing act was in self-defense[50][51]
San Antonio, Texas Katherine Helmsley[23]
San Francisco, California Violet Regal[52]
Sunbury, Pennsylvania Mary Botto[30]
Syracuse, New York Eileen Snyder[5]
Trenton, New Jersey Alma D. DeCone[23]
Tulsa, Oklahoma Constance Crosby[53]
Vineland, New Jersey Mary E. Edwards[23]
Washington, D.C. Lorraine Bunch[23]
West Virginia Neva Jackson[54]
Wildwood, New Jersey Eleanor Addis[23]
Wilmington, Delaware Ruth Agnes Brady[45]

References

  1. ↑ "Miss Columbus Again Captures Beauty Title". The Norwalk Hour. 1923-09-07. p. 16.
  2. ↑ "Ohio Girl Again is 'Miss America'". The Sandusky Register. 1923-09-08. p. 1.
  3. ↑ "Twice Honored As Miss America". The Sandusky Star Journal. 1923-09-08. p. 5.
  4. ↑ "Miss America History 1923". Archived from the original on 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Croyle, Johnathan (September 8, 2018). "Miss Syracuse charms at the 1923 Miss America Pageant". Syracuse.com.
  6. 1 2 3 Schnitzspahn, Karen (September 8, 1997). "There She Was – Miss Long Branch". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. ...talent contest that was established in 1935.
  7. 1 2 3 "Columbus, O. Girl Again Wins Title of "Miss America"". The Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. September 8, 1923. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Why They Want a Law Forbidding Beauty Contests". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. November 11, 1923. Feature Section, p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 Watson, Elwood; Martin, Darcy (2004). "There She Is, Miss America": The Politics of Sex, Beauty, and Race in America's Most Famous Pageant (1 ed.). New York, New York: Springer Publishing. ISBN 1403981825 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ "Attacks Bathing Review: Preacher Says Atlantic City Event Endangers Youthful Morals". The New York Times. New York, New York. September 11, 1923. p. 15.
  11. 1 2 "Miss Columbus Again Captures Beauty Title". The Norwalk Hour. September 7, 1923. p. 16.
  12. ↑ "Miss Columbus Again Elected Beauty Queen". Wausau Daily Record-Herald. Wausau, Wisconsin. September 8, 1923. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "1923 Miss America Pageant 1st Runner-Up Trophy - Brooklyn Kid Makes Good". Lelands. September 21, 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Beauty Escapes Death; Miss Coney Island Arrives Too Late for Fatal Flight". The New York Times. New York, New York. September 9, 1923. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com. ...who finished third in the international beauty tournament...
  15. 1 2 "Columbus Girl Wins for Second Time Title of Miss America". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. September 8, 1923. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com. ...Miss Charlotte Nash of St Louis and Miss Marian Green of Philadelphia were the runners up, in the order named.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Miss St. Louis First in Atlantic City Beauty Trials". The Pittsburgh Post. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. September 6, 1923. p. 2.
  17. ↑ "Be Chosen In Beauty Show". The Lima News. Lima, Ohio. September 7, 1923. p. 1 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
  18. 1 2 Dunn, Geoffrey (August 24, 2011). "Arctic Venus: The first Miss Alaska". Anchorage Press. Anchorage, Alaska.
  19. ↑ "Miss Alaska Follows Trail of Ice, Water, Air, Rail to Beauty Camp". Daily News. New York, New York. September 3, 1922. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Golden Apple Is Sought by Scores". The Allentown Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. September 6, 1923. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Half a Dozen America Beauties, Please". The Daily News. Frederick, Maryland. September 6, 1923. p. 11 – via Newspaper.com.
  22. ↑ "Lois Wilde, Famous Model at 15, Still Loves Dolls, but Aspires to Be a Bernhardt". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. December 10, 1922. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 "Golden Apple Is Sought by Scores". The Allentown Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. September 6, 1923. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ Coe, Alexis (February 12, 2013). "Stop That Skirt-Chaser! The Movement to Outlaw Flirting in the 1920s". The Atlantic. Olga Emrick, a Cincinnati stenographer, shows how a jiu-jitsu twist
  25. ↑ "Hit the Deck – 1929". IMDb.
  26. ↑ "Elizabeth Catherine Steele Crowned "Miss Cumberland"". Cumberland Evening Times. Cumberland, Maryland. August 30, 1923. p. 1 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
  27. ↑ "America's Prettiest Girls". The Evening News. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. September 14, 1922. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ Arbuckle, Alex Q. (July 12, 2015). "1922:The first Miss America". Mashable. Gorman, far right, poses in swimwear, with Mary Dague as "Miss Wheeling," Dorothy Haupt as "Miss Easton,"...
  29. ↑ "Wins Beauty Contest". National Petroleum News. Vol. 15, no. 3. National Petroleum Publishing Company. September 5, 1923. p. 62 – via Google Books.
  30. 1 2 3 "More Beauties". The Daily News. Frederick, Maryland. September 6, 1923. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ "Miss Johnstown Selected by Judges". The Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. September 1, 1923. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ Hetherington, M.F. "History of Polk County Florida". Lakeland, Florida: The Record Company. Miss Mary Weaver represented Lakeland in the Beauty Pageant at Atlantic City in September, 1923.
  33. ↑ "Miss Grace Kohr Wins Right to Represent Lebanon in Shore Beauty Pageant Next Month". Evening Report. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. August 21, 1923. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ↑ "Trade Conditions". The Jewelers' Circular. Vol. 88. April 23, 1924. p. 92 – via Google Books. Miss Elizabeth Mallory, Miss Memphis for 1923, pitched the first ball.
  35. 1 2 "Miss Newlon Is to Represent City". Miami News-Metropolis. Miami, Florida. September 3, 1923. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. 1 2 "Margaret Gorman Cahill, 90; First Miss America". Los Angeles Times. October 5, 1995.
  37. 1 2 3 "Miss America 1923 Candidates". Miss America. 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  38. ↑ "Miss Norristown". The New York Times. New York, New York. September 2, 1923. p. 74 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. ↑ "Grace Taylor Is Miss Ocean City". Cape May County Times. New York, New York. August 17, 1923. p. 1.
  40. ↑ "Beauty". Dixon Evening Telegraph. Dixon, Illinois. September 8, 1923. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  41. ↑ "illegible". Albert Lea Freeborn County Standard. Albert Lea, Minnesota. September 27, 1923. p. 3 – via NewspaperArchive.com. Katherine Floyd...was entered as "Miss Pensacola" in the National Beauty Show at Atlantic City, NJ.
  42. ↑ "From the Sunny South". The Daily News. Frederick, Maryland. September 6, 1923. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  43. ↑ "Miss Philadelphia Leads the Parade". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 7, 1923. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  44. ↑ "ineligible". Reading Times. Reading, Pennsylvania. October 4, 1923. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com. Miss Jane Ondeck who represented Reading at the Atlantic City pageant...
  45. 1 2 "Beauties". Olean Evening Times. Olean, New York. September 5, 1923. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  46. ↑ "Daily Graphic Review of News Events". Athens Messenger. Athens, Ohio. September 4, 1923. p. 7 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  47. 1 2 "Beauty Contest Girl Held as Husband Shot to Death". The San Bernardino Daily Sun. San Bernardino, California. March 13, 1931. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  48. ↑ "Charlotte Nash". The St. Louis Star. St. Louis, Missouri. May 19, 1926. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  49. ↑ "Mrs. Nixon-Nirdlinger Goes on Trial Today". The New York Times. New York, New York. May 20, 1931. p. 13.
  50. ↑ "First Intimate Details of Her Romance With the Theatrical Magnate". The St. Louis Star. St. Louis, Missouri. July 7, 1931. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. ...acquitted in Nice, France of the murder of her husband.
  51. ↑ "Takes Jury Ten Minutes to Acquit US Beauty". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Brunswick, New Jersey. May 20, 1913.
  52. ↑ "Extra Attraction". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. August 22, 1923. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  53. ↑ "Miss Tulsa in Chair". The Tulsa Tribune. 10 September 1923. p. 1. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  54. ↑ "West Virginia's Best". The Daily News. Frederick, Maryland. September 6, 1923. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.

Secondary sources

  • Saulino Osborne, Angela (1995). "Miss Americas and their Courts". Miss America The Dream Lives On. Taylor Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87833-110-7.
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