America pageant 1921, Atlantic City. public domain
The Miss America Pageant dates all the way back to the 1920s, managing to transform over that time period but oddly remaining the same. It started as the regional “Inter-City Beauties” “popularity contest” featuring East Coast women entirely from Philadelphia, New York City, and D.C.
What started as a humble summer contest in Atlantic City grew by leaps and bounds in just a few short years. Quickly the Miss America Pageant became a highlight event on the summer calendar, drawing visitors and contestants from all over the country. Here’s a snapshot of the early days of what eventually became a multi-million dollar TV event.
Not exactly the glitz and glamour of today.
“The Inter-City Beauties”
In what would become the Miss America Pageant, the inaugural 1921 event found its first contestants via major newspapers along the east coast. Women sent in their pictures along with brief descriptions before readers voted on their favorites.
Those finalists received a free trip to Atlantic City mostly to listen to the unintelligible voices shouted from the crowd. The infrastructure for thoughtful questions about world peace lay many years away. Together, judges and crowd applause selected the winner.
The first Miss America, 1921. Getty Images
Room For Growth
In a decision that hasn’t exactly aged well, a 16-year-old named Margaret Gorman won. Apparently, her smile, quick wit, and athletic talent won over the assembled peanut gallery. Her historic victory netted Gorman a trophy and $100 in gold which amounts to just shy of $1,700 in today’s money. Nevertheless, she still had to pay for the telegram from her best friend which read, “Congratulations. Don’t get stuck up.”
Margaret Gorman doesn't sound like she became "stuck up."
Big Business
Immediately, organizers knew they possessed a serious money maker. By changing it from regional to national, they opened a very profitable can of worms that caught the attention of America. In fairness, in the ‘20s people didn’t have a ton to do. Therefore, picking contestants off national radio broadcasts using “colorful descriptions” captivated audiences slogging through their dull days.
By the third year, over 300,000 tickets were sold and summer vacations were extended to witness the burgeoning Miss America Pageant. They started holding a parade on the Atlantic City boardwalk that would draw throngs of crowds. When famed artist Norman Rockwell showed up one year to be a judge, it added an air of spectacle to an already growing contest.
The Miss America Parade in 1933. PressOfAtlanticCity.com
Necessary Changes
It probably took longer than necessary but the Pageant enacted several changes to diminish the cringe factor. Already, activists were decrying various aspects of the contest which, at a time when heroin was cough syrup, that’s saying something. They removed underage girls, requiring contestants to be at least 18 years old. Unfortunately, they also instituted an age cap at 28 along with the stipulation that women couldn’t be married or have children. Some of the outdated regulations still exist but let's just move on.
The Miss America Pagent grew in leaps and bounds.
A Wholesome Glimmer
In an ode to a different time, the only two-time winner of the Miss America Pageant history, Mary Campbell, actually won thanks to her “Great vivacity and an inherent shyness that constitute a wonderful combination. She is typically American and altogether an ideal type.” That was according to judge Joseph Cummings Chase. Campbell’s back-to-back wins in 1922 and 1923 occurred before the rule change forbidding multiple-time winners.
Reportedly, she never considered herself “pretty” growing up in Columbus, Ohio. Of course, it’s also telling that the then 17-year-old girl learned the phrase “hourglass figure” in relation to herself during that contest. Supposedly, her mother told her it was “none of her business” when she asked what it meant.
