| Miss America 1952 | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 8, 1951 |
| Venue | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Entrants | 51 |
| Placements | 15 |
| Winner | Colleen Kay Hutchins Utah |
Miss America 1952, the 25th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 8, 1951. At age 25 (the maximum age that an entrant may be), Colleen Kay Hutchins is the second-oldest contestant to capture the crown (Debra Sue Maffett, Miss America 1983, is the oldest by a few months). [1] [2]
The first Miss Utah to win the crown, Hutchins, who died in 2010, was the mother of pro basketball player and executive Kiki Vandeweghe and grandmother of tennis player Coco Vandeweghe.
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| Placement | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss America 1952 | |
| 1st Runner-Up |
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| 2nd Runner-Up |
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| 3rd Runner-Up |
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| 4th Runner-Up |
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| Top 10 |
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| Top 15 |
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| Awards | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Lifestyle and Fitness |
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| Talent |
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| Awards | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss Congeniality |
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| |
| Title | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alabama | Jeanne Moody | Cherokee | 21 | Dramatic Skit, "Sorry, Wrong Number" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
 Arkansas | Charlotte Simmen | Little Rock | Vocal & Art Exhibition | 3rd Runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness Award | ||
 California | Patricia Lehman | Sacramento | Piano | ||||
 Canada | Marjorie Alma Kelly | Courtland | |||||
 Chicago | Adrianne Falcon | Chicago | Vocal & Dance | Top 10 | |||
 Colorado | Jo London | Aurora | Dramatic Monologue | ||||
 Connecticut | Beverly Buriant | Bridgeport | Drama | Later Miss Connecticut USA 1953 | |||
 Delaware | Suzanne Parrott | Dover | Piano | ||||
 District of Columbia | June Klein | 21 | Vocal | ||||
 Florida | Mary Elizabeth Godwin | Gainesville | Pantomime, "Betty Boop" | 4th Runner-up | |||
 Georgia | Carol Frances Taylor | Alma | 20 | Monologue | |||
| Greater Philadelphia | Margaret Ramsdale | Philadelphia | Vocal, "Danny Boy" | ||||
 Hawaii | Claire Katherine Heen | Honolulu | Hula | Miss Congeniality | |||
 Idaho | Phyllis Ralstin | Nezperce | Operatic Vocal, "My Hero" from The Chocolate Soldier | ||||
 Illinois | Doris King | Granite City | Dance | ||||
 Indiana | Carol Mitchell | Rochester | Chalk Talk & Marionette Exhibition | 1st Runner-up | |||
 Iowa | Nancy Jane Norman | Shenandoah | 19 | Vocal, "Romance" from The Desert Song | |||
 Kentucky | Dottye Nuckols | Bowling Green | Vocal | ||||
 Louisiana | Jeanne Thompson | Baton Rouge | Dance | Later Miss Louisiana USA 1952 & 1953, the only woman ever to compete at Miss USA twice | |||
 Maine | Beverly Ann Emery | Auburn | Classical Vocal from The Student Prince | ||||
 Maryland | Georgia Reed | Baltimore | Vocal, "Love is Where You Find it" from The Kissing Bandit | Top 10 | |||
 Massachusetts | Mildred Almeida | New Bedford | Fashion Modeling | ||||
 Michigan | Delores Maria Berruezo | St. Clair Shores | Dance | First Latina Miss Michigan | |||
 Minnesota | Katherine Rose Clark | Minneapolis | 20 | Classical Vocal, "The Jewel Song" from Faust | Kathryn Rose Clark, a native of La Crosse, Wis., was a student the MacPhail School of Music in Minneapolis, Minn. for three years at the time of her state victory. | ||
 Mississippi | Jessie Morgan | Newton | Ballet | Top 15 | |||
 Missouri | Carol Romann | St. Charles | Bassoon | ||||
 Montana | Patricia McGinty | Great Falls | Classical Vocal, "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" from Samson and Delilah | ||||
 Nebraska | Geraldine Elseman | Omaha | Dramatic Monologue | ||||
 Nevada | Donna Sollars | Reno | Vocal & Ukulele, "Has Anybody Seen My Gal?" & "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" | ||||
 New Hampshire | Coleen Gallant | Laconia | Water Skiing | Top 15 | |||
 New Jersey | Bernice Massi | Camden | |||||
 New York | Louise Orlando | Syracuse | Vocal | ||||
 New York City | Sandy Scott | New York City | Vocal | ||||
 North Carolina | Lu Ogborn | Smithfield | Piano, "Malagueña" | 2nd Runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award
| ||
 North Dakota | Marilyn Walker | Minot | Painting Display | ||||
 Ohio | Ruth Howell | Apple Creek | Drama | ||||
 Oklahoma | Bobby Jene Simmons | Oklahoma City | Classical Vocal, "Je Veux Vivre" from Roméo et Juliette | Top 10 | |||
 Oregon | Audrey Mistretta | Astoria | Vocal | ||||
 Pennsylvania | Clare Lippert | Tarentum | Vocal, "Lullaby of Broadway" | ||||
 Puerto Rico | Otilia Jimenez | Miss Congeniality | |||||
 South Carolina | Joyce Perry | Conway | Comedy Vocal, "Sewing Machine" | Top 10 | |||
 South Dakota | Marlene Rieb | Parkston | Baton Twirling | Top 10 | Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness Award | ||
 Tennessee | Jean Harper | Memphis | Vocal, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" | Top 15 | Later Miss Tennessee USA 1952 and 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1952 | ||
 Texas | Glenda Holcomb | Odessa | Dramatic Monologue | ||||
 Utah | Colleen Kay Hutchins | Salt Lake City | 25 | Dramatic Monologue, "Elizabeth the Queen" by Maxwell Anderson | Winner | Preliminary Talent Award | |
 Vermont | Peggy Gilbert | Rutland | Dance | ||||
 Virginia | Shirley Bryant | Norfolk | Vocal | ||||
 Washington | Darlene Shaffer | Seattle | Dress Design | ||||
 West Virginia | Phyllis Walker | Charleston | Drama | Top 15 | |||
 Wisconsin | Sheila Murphy | Marshfield | 18 | Monologue | |||
 Wyoming | Patricia Seabeck | Casper | Monologue |
Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: Private Interview (30%) – a 10-minute press conference-style interview with a panel of judges, On Stage Question (10%) – answering a judge's question onstage, Talent or HER Story (20%) – a performance talent or 90 second speech, Health and Fitness (20%) – demonstrated physical fitness onstage dressed in athletic wear, and Evening Gown (20%) – modeling evening-wear onstage.
Ernest Maurice Vandeweghe Jr. was an American professional basketball player. Vandeweghe was best known for playing for the New York Knicks of the NBA and for the athletic successes of his family.
Melvin Ray Hutchins was an American basketball player. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1951 to 1958. Hutchins was selected by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks with the second pick in the 1951 NBA draft and was a four-time NBA All-Star.
The Miss Alabama competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Alabama in the annual Miss America Competition.
The Miss New York scholarship competition selects the representative for the state of New York in the Miss America scholarship competition.
The Miss Connecticut competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Connecticut in the Miss America pageant. Connecticut has won the Miss America crown once, and is the only New England state which has produced a Miss America.
The Miss District of Columbia competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the District of Columbia in the Miss America Pageant.
The Miss New Jersey competition is an annual pageant held to select the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss America pageant.
Colleen Kay Hutchins was Miss America 1952.
The Miss Pennsylvania competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Pennsylvania in the Miss America pageant. Pennsylvania, including early years' city representatives, has won the Miss America crown on five occasions.
The Miss Utah competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Utah in the Miss America competition. Two Miss Utah titleholders have won the Miss America pageant.
The most frequently presented Miss America awards are for preliminary talent and swimsuit. The talent award was introduced in 1936, and the swimsuit award in 1940. In the 2000s, preliminary awards for evening gown and interview were briefly introduced but were discontinued after two years as it was felt that they made the semi-finalists too predictable.
Miss America 1922 was the second annual Miss America pageant, held at the Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey from September 7–9, 1922.
Miss America 1954, the 27th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 12, 1953. Though four women from Pennsylvania had previously held the title, Evelyn Margaret Ay was the first Miss Pennsylvania to be crowned Miss America, as the others represented cities.
Miss America 1951, the 24th Miss America pageant, was held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 9, 1950. Traditionally, since a majority of Miss America's reign occurred during the year following her coronation, the pageant referred to her title with the upcoming year. Thus, Yolande Betbeze, who was crowned in September 1950, was called Miss America 1951. This practice continued until 2006, when pageant activities moved from September to January. From that point, the title year aligned with the year in which the titleholder won. This change also occurred recently in 2024, and it marked the transition from Atlantic City, the pageant's long-time base, to its new home in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Tauna Kay Vandeweghe, also known by her married names Mrs. Tauna Mullarkey and Mrs. Tauna Oshea, is an American former competition swimmer who participated in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec. She competed in the 100-meter backstroke and advanced to the semifinals of the event, recording a best time of 1:05.00 in the preliminary heats. She won silver medals at the 1975 World Aquatics Championships in the 4 × 100 meter medley relay and at the 1983 Pan American Games in volleyball.
Miss America 2018, the 91st Miss America pageant, though the Miss America Organization celebrated its 97th anniversary in 2017. This discrepancy is due to no national pageants being held from 1928 to 1932 or in 1934 because of financial problems associated with the Great Depression. The 2018 pageant was held in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Sunday, September 10, 2017. This was the first Miss America pageant to be held in Atlantic City since the Miss America Organization headquarters relocated to Boardwalk Hall.
Miss America 2019, the 92nd Miss America pageant, though the Miss America Organization celebrated its 98th anniversary in 2018. This discrepancy is due to national pageants not being held from 1928 to 1932 or in 1934 because of financial problems associated with the Great Depression. The 2019 competition was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On May 23, 2018, it was announced that the pageant would air live on ABC on Sunday, September 9, 2018. This was the last Miss America to be aired on ABC before it was moved to NBC beginning from the 2020 pageant.
The Miss America 2020 competition was held on Thursday, December 19, 2019. This was the 93rd Miss America pageant/competition, though the Miss America Organization celebrated its 99th anniversary in 2019. This discrepancy is due to national pageants not being held from 1928 to 1932 or in 1934 because of financial problems associated with the Great Depression.
