Miss America 1927

Miss America 1927, the seventh Miss America pageant, was held at the Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday, September 9, 1927.^[1][2] The winner was 16-year-old Lois Delander who competed as Miss Illinois. She won the Miss America title on her parents' twentieth wedding anniversary.^[3]

Miss America 1927
Date	September 9, 1927
Presenters	King Neptune (Eddie Dowling)
Venue	Million Dollar Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Entrants	75
Placements	15
Winner	Lois Delander  Illinois
← 1926 1933 →

After newspaper articles alleged that young women were being falsely lured into the competition with claims of a screen test and the promise of a likely film career,^[4] public pressure resulted in the 1927 competition being the last pageant to be held in the 1920s.^[5] The next Miss America pageant would not be held until 1933, during the Great Depression.

Results

Contestants of the 1927 Miss America Pageant

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss America 1927	Illinois – Lois Delander
1st Runner-Up	Dallas – Moselle Ransome
Top 5	Philadelphia – Kathleen Coyle Tulsa – Virginia Howard Hammond – Anne Howe
Top 15	Battle Creek – Charlotte Jane Lowe Boston – Ethel Beatrice Pierce Charleston – Claudia Harvin Huntington – Lillian Ward New York City – Frieda Louise Mierse Newark – Carolyn Pierson Oakland – Ruby Smith Pittsfield – Martha E. Hick Rochester – Dorothea Ditmer Santa Cruz – Bertha Weizel

Other awards

Award	Contestant
Rolling Chair Parade Winner	New York City – Freida Louise Mierse

Contestants

75 contestants competed for the title.

Represented	Name	Hometown	Age	Awards
Baltimore	Beulah Goldsborough
Battle Creek	Charlotte Jane Lowe
Biloxi	Phyllis Hunt
Boston	Ethel Beatrice Pierce
Bridgeport	Antoinette Violet	Bridgeport
Buffalo	Kay Armstrong
Canton	Erma Shorwood Steele
Charleston	Mary Claudia Harvin	Charleston
Chicago	Myrtle Valsted	Chicago
Dallas	Moselle Ransome
Danville	Gladys Vile
Denver	Elva Yvette Roy
Elizabeth	Helen Mankus
El Paso	Mildred Casad
Flint	Ruth Bushroe
Fort Worth	Juanita Gilbert
Gary	Anna May Owens	Gary
Hammond	Anna Howe
Hartford	Leona Faith Monoson	Hartford
Huntington	Lillian Ward	Huntington
Illinois	Lois Delander	Joliet	16
Jamestown	Laura Belle Cooper
Jersey City	Eunice Geiser
Kalamazoo	Florence Nina Clement
Kansas City	Marion Kenser
Lansing	Margherite Strang
Lockport	Peggy Louise Proctor
Lynn	Muriel E. Bowers
Madison	Marjorie Leffingwell
Miami	Marcia Hands
Minneapolis	Sylvia Irene Brenner	Minneapolis
Missouri	Katherine Calloway
Newark	Carolyn Pierson
New England	Marion Howarth	Fall River
New Haven	Dorothy Barton	New Haven
New Orleans	Gladys Renya Moore	New Orleans
New York City	Freida Louise Mierse			Rolling Chair Parade Winner
Oakland	Ruby Smith
Ohio	Evelyn Wilgus	Russells Point
Passiac	Harriet Rita Shelby
Pennsylvania	Florence Koons
Philadelphia	Kathleen Coyle
Pittsburgh	Mary Millnack
Pittsfield	Martha E. Hick
Pontiac	Margaret Tinney
Rhode Island	June Frances Costello	Providence
Rochester	Dorothea B. Ditmer
Saginaw	Charlotte Elaine Bowman
San Francisco	Naoma Farrand
Santa Cruz	Bertha Weizel
Seattle	Eleanor Maddieux
South Bend	Hilda Koch	South Bend
South Dakota	Ramona Pearl Sorenson	Lemmon	18
Southern California	Louise Heathman
Spokane	Eva King
Springfield	Anna G. Bernard	Springfield
Storm Lake	Geneva Roberts	Storm Lake	19
Terre Haute	Vera Haspal
Tulsa	Virginia Howard	Tulsa
Union City	Sue Hoch
Utah	Esther Kilpatrick	Salt Lake City
Utica	Margaret Lockwood
Washington D.C.	Gladys Cookman
Watertown	Eva M. Bergman
Western New York	Betty Schwartz
Wheeling	Mildred Dorothy Bright	Wheeling
Wichita	Mildred Orr
Wilkes-Barre	Esther J. Cantor
Wisconsin	Virginia Hillyer	Fort Atkinson	17
Worcester	Dorothy M. Rawson
Yonkers	Emma Sackett

References

1. "Unbobbed Girl, 16, Wins Miss America". The Miami News. 1927-09-10. p. 1.
2. Associated Press (1927-09-10). "Joliet Girl, 16, 'Miss Illinois,' Queen of Beauty". Decatur Review. p. 1.
3. "Miss America History 1927". Archived from the original on 2012-05-02. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
4. "A.C. Beauty Contest Bunk: 'Pictures' Used to Mislead Girls - Flagrant Misrepresentatioas by Suggestion to Induce Young Women Throughout America to Enter Beauty Contasts in Hopes of Engagement in Hollywood Films — Adroit Wording to Gain Consent of Mothers". Variety. 88 (4). New York City: Variety, Inc.: 1, 43 August 10, 1927. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
5. Miss America: A History at www.missamerica.org

External links

• Miss America official website
• "America's Fairest Maid" (1927), British Pathé on YouTube