Miss America 1923
Mary Katherine Campbell, Miss America 1923
Date	September 7, 1923
Presenters	King Neptune (Hudson Maxim)
Venue	Million Dollar Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Entrants	75
Placements	5
Winner	Mary Katherine Campbell N/A
← 1922 1924 →

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[edit]

Organization of pageant[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Placements[edit]

Awards[edit]

Evening Dress Award[edit]

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

Roller Chair Parade[edit]

Contestants[edit]

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	Helen Noble[21]
Altoona	Margaret Lillian Ross[20]
Asheville	Rose Hildebrand[20]
Atlanta, Georgia	Frances Thayer[20]
Baltimore	Billie Muller[20]
Binghamton	Bonita C. Bement[21]	19
Birmingham	Louise Newman[20]
Boston	Margaret L. Black[20]
Bridgeton	Sarah Delp[20]
Brighton Beach	Edithea Lois Wild[22]	15
Brooklyn	Ethelda Kenvin[20]	24	Married baseball player, E.D. Barnes, in 1921[8]
Buffalo	Irene Knight[20]
Burlington	Hazel Gove[20]
Cambridge	Doris Rowden George[23]
Camden	Florence Nurock[23]
Cape May	Mildred McCann[23]
Chicago	Corrine Dellefield[23]
Cincinnati	Olga Emrick[23]		Later worked as a stenographer and was active with the "Anti-Flirt Club"[24]
Cleveland	Mary Jane Clark[23]
Columbus	Genevieve Mambourg[23]
Coney Island	Heather Eulalie Walker[14]		Star of the lost musical film, Hit the Deck, opposite Jack Oakie[25]
Cumberland	Elizabeth Catherine Steele[26]	18
Detroit	Beth Madson[23]		Also competed in Miss America 1922 pageant as Miss Detroit[27]
Easton	Agnes Connelly[23]
Erie	Dorothy Haupt[23]		Also competed in Miss America 1922 pageant as Miss Easton[28]
Fort Worth	Bessie Laurene Roosa[29]
Hammonton	Alice Kind[23]
Harrisburg	Helen R. Knisely[30]
Jacksonville	Alyce Phillips[21]
Johnstown	Betty Grening[31]
Lakeland	Mary Weaver[32]
Lebanon	Grace Kohr[33]
Long Branch	Elene Hicks[6]	19	Died of breast cancer in 1940 at age 38[6]
Louisville	Juanita Hobbs[23]
Memphis	Elizabeth Mallory[34]
Miami	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	Mildred Salisbury[21]
New Haven	Helen Haddock[23]
New Jersey	Elizabeth McClure[37]
	Alberta Dorothy Smith[37]
	Elsie Banholzer[37]
New York City	Peggy Verna Shevlin[23]
Niagara Falls	Nelda Tell[23]
Norristown	Mildred Maconachy[38]
Ocean City	Grace Taylor[39]
Oklahoma City	Mary Deen Overly[40]
Pensacola	Katherine Floyd[41][42]
Philadelphia	Marion Green[43]
Portland	Winona Evelyn Drew[30]
Portland	Patricia Smith[23]
Pottsville	Isabel Lynch[21]
Providence	Loretta La Flamme[21]
Reading	Jane Ondeck[44]
Richmond	Billie Gates[45]
Rochester	Reta Cowles[46]
St. Louis	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	Katherine Helmsley[23]
San Francisco	Violet Regal[52]
Sunbury	Mary Botto[30]
Syracuse	Eileen Snyder[5]
Trenton	Alma D. DeCone[23]
Tulsa	Constance Crosby[53]
Vineland	Mary E. Edwards[23]
Washington, D.C.	Lorraine Bunch[23]
West Virginia	Neva Jackson[54]
Wildwoody	Eleanor Addis[23]
Wilmington	Ruth Agnes Brady[45]

References[edit]

Secondary sources[edit]

External links[edit]

• Miss America official website
• "Miss America Pageant" (1923), Gaumont Newsreel (via British Pathé) on YouTube