Miss America 1922, the second annual

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

pageant, was held at the

Million Dollar Pier Playground Pier is a four-story pier located on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey that houses a luxury shopping and restaurant mall. Located at the foot of Arkansas Avenue, it is connected to Caesars casino via a second-story skybridg ...

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

from September 7–9, 1922. At the conclusion of the event, Miss America 1921,

Margaret Gorman Margaret Gorman (August 18, 1905 – October 1, 1995) was an American model and beauty queen who was the winner of the first Miss America beauty pageant after being crowned Miss District of Columbia in 1921. Pageantry Gorman was a junior at W ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and film actress,

Anita Stewart Anita Stewart (born Anna Marie Stewart; February 7, 1895 – May 4, 1961) was an American actress and film producer of the early silent film era. Early years Anita Stewart was born in Brooklyn, New York as Anna Marie Stewart on February 7, 18 ...

, presented the $5,000 Golden Mermaid Trophy to

Mary Katherine Campbell Mary Katherine Campbell (December 18, 1905 – June 7, 1990) was the only person to win the Miss America pageant twice and the second woman in history to win the title. Early life and education Campbell's Miss America biography stated she i ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

thus declaring Campbell as the official successor to the Miss America title.

Overview

Organization of pageant

The pageant consisted of six phases of competition: rolling chair parade, evening gown, intercity bathing, amateur surf attire, professional mermaids, and the final. There was no talent competition at this pageant (this would not become part of the Miss America competition until 1935), and there was no formal interview sessions between the contestants and judges. On the afternoon of September 7, 1922, the 58 contestants competed in the rolling chair parade. Later that same day, they competed in the evening gown competition. Both the rolling chair and evening gown competitions were won by Miss Indianapolis, Thelma Blossom. On September 8, 1922, the contestants competed in bathing suit revues. The contestants were divided into three unique groupings: intercity, amateur, and professional beauties. During the bathing revue, the Mayor of Atlantic City and some of the city's police force joined the contestants, wearing their own bathing attire. The three winners of these bathing/beauty competitions then progressed to the final phase of competition to compete directly against the reigning Miss America 1921, Margaret Gorman.

, competing as Miss Columbus in the pageant, edged out the previous year's winner,

, who competed as "Miss America 1921" in the 1922 event, to claim the preliminary "Intercity Beauty Award." Campbell then competed against "Professional Beauty Award" winner,

Dorothy Knapp Dorothy Knapp (born about 1900) was an American dancer, actress, model and Ziegfeld girl. Early life Dorothy Knapp was born in Chicago, or Dallas (sources vary). She lived in New York City after 1915, and was dancing professionally by 1916, in ...

of New York, "Amateur Beauty Award" winner, Gladys Greenamyer of West Philadelphia, and Gorman, the reigning Miss America. After the conclusion of the final phase of competition, judging panel deliberated for over two hours before selecting the sole winner of the pageant.

, Miss Columbus, was then named Miss America 1922 just after midnight on September 9, 1922.

Judges

The panel of judges for the national pageant included Heyworth Campbell,

Coles Phillips Clarence Coles Phillips (October 3, 1880June 13, 1927) was an American artist and illustrator who signed his early works ''C. Coles Phillips'', but after 1911 worked under the abbreviated name, ''Coles Phillips''. He is known for his stylish imag ...

Joseph Cummings Chase Joseph Cummings Chase (May 5, 1878 – January 15, 1965) was an American artist who made portraits during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He also painted leading figures from non-military society. The National Portrait Gallery at t ...

Arnold Genthe Arnold Genthe (8 January 1869 – 9 August 1942) was a German-American photographer, best known for his photographs of San Francisco's Chinatown, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and his portraits of noted people, from politicians and socialite ...

Willy Pogany William Andrew Pogany (born Vilmos András Pogány; August 24, 1882 – July 30, 1955) was a prolific Hungarian illustrator of children's and other books. His contemporaries include C. Coles Phillips, Joseph Clement Coll, Edmund Dulac, Harvey Du ...

, August William Hutaf,

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

, and

Howard Chandler Christy Howard Chandler Christy (January 10, 1872 – March 3, 1952) was an American artist and illustrator. Famous for the "Christy Girl" – a colorful and illustrious successor to the "Gibson Girl" – Christy is also widely known for his ico ...

. Rockwell later reported that the judging panel was given no instructions on how to judge the pageant and select a winner. One judge suggested that they judge each part or feature of the body out of ten, then the woman with the total highest score would win. After they had tried this system, they discovered that judging a contestant "piecemeal" did not result in the most beautiful and well-rounded contestant being selected as a winner. So they "...gave up trying to figure out a system and resolved to trust our eyes. It led to squabbles, because all of us didn't see things in the same way, but it was the best we could do."

Results

Placements

Preliminary awards

Contestants

Notes

References

Secondary sources

External links

Miss America official website

{{Miss America

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

1922 in the United States 1922 in New Jersey September 1922 events