# Miss America 1937

Miss America 1937, the 11th Miss America pageant, was held at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 11, 1937. Shortly after being presented as Miss America, the newly crowned 17-year-old winner, Bette Cooper, left Atlantic City and returned home. Once there, she missed scheduled appointments on her first day as Miss America, as well as a theater appearance and a trip to Hollywood. Her father cited illness as the reason. Though not placing in the top five, representatives from different areas of New York captured three of the semi-finalist positions.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss America 1937 | Bertrand Island – Bette Cooper |
| 1st Runner-Up | Texas – Alice Emerick |
| 2nd Runner-Up | North Carolina – Ruth Covington |
| 3rd Runner-Up | California – Phyllis Randall |
| 4th Runner-Up | Miami – Irmigard Dietel |
| Top 16 | Bronx – Helen Fleiss  Buckeye Lake – Evelyn Townley  Charlotte – Betty Hunneycutt  Kansas – Lucia Benton  Louisiana – Gertrude Rissie Miller  Massachusetts – Claire Jean Nevulis  New York City – Grace Travis  Ohio – Jean Bernice Fadden St. Louis – Wauneta Bates  Virginia – Frances L. Sultan  Westchester County – Evelyn Raye |

### Awards

Best Evening Gown
* Bette Cooper (Bertrand Island)

#### Preliminary awards

| Awards | Contestant | Title |
| Talent | Phyllis Randall | California |
| Talent | Claire Jean Nevulis | Massachusetts |
| Talent | Grace Travis | New York City |

## Contestants

| Name | Title | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes |
| Lorraine Mayfield | Atlanta | Atlanta | | | | | |
| Olga Strickland | Augusta | | | | | | |
| May Vivian Miller | Baltimore | Baltimore | | | | | |
| Bette Cooper | Bertrand Island | Hackettstown | 17 | Vocal, "When the Poppies Bloom Again" | Winner | Best Evening Gown Award | |
| Josephine Beall | Birmingham | | | | | | |
| Helen Fleiss | Bronx | The Bronx | | | Top 16 | | |
| Evelyn Townley | Buckeye Lake | | | | Top 16 | | |
| Phyllis Randall | California | Hollywood | 20 | Vocal/Dance | 3rd Runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | Sister of Miss North Carolina 1941, Joey Augusta Paxton |
| Betty Hunneycutt | Charlotte | Charlotte | | | Top 16 | | |
| Sally Lillian Frank | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | | | | | |
| Frances Greene | Connecticut | Milford | | | | | |
| Nickey Harriet | Delaware | Harrington | | | | | |
| Mary P. Hollran | Delray Beach | Delray Beach | | | | | |
| Helen Greene | District of Columbia | | 24 | Blues Vocal & Piano | | | |
| Beryl Kober | Eastern Pennsylvania | Chalfont | | | | | |
| Margaret Myers | Eastern Shores | Rock Hall | | | | | |
| Dorothy Armstrong | Empire State | Whitesboro | | | | | |
| Frances Powell | Jacksonville | | | | | | |
| Lucia Benton | Kansas | Norton | | | Top 16 | | |
| Audrey Catherine Flaig | Kentucky | Bellevue | | | | | |
| Gertrude Rissie Miller | Louisiana | Winnsboro | | | Top 16 | | |
| Cornelia Campbell | Maine | South Portland | | | | | |
| Claire Nevulis | Massachusetts | South Boston | | Vocal/Tap Dance | Top 16 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| Irmigard Dietel | Miami | | | Vocal | 4th Runner-up | | |
| Cecelia Rodge | Minnesota | Minneapolis | | | | | |
| Virginia Riley | Mississippi | West Point | | | | | |
| Mary Sue Klein | Moberly | Moberly | | | | | |
| Ingram Starkey | Montgomery | Montgomery | | | | | |
| Ruth Lenore Jones | Nebraska | Nebraska City | | | | | |
| Grace Travis | New York City | New York City | | Vocal | Top 16 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| Ruth Covington | North Carolina | | | Tap Dance, "Gonna Go" | 2nd Runner-up | | |
| Jean Fadden | Ohio | Cleveland | | | Top 16 | | |
| Kathryn Crase | Philadelphia | Philadelphia | | | | | |
| Malen Pietrantoni | Puerto Rico | | | | | | |
| Dorothy May Eden | Rhode Island | East Providence | 18 | | | | Dr. Dorothy May Eden Trayner Erinakes died at 97 on March 20, 2017 in San Luis Obispo, California. |
| Helen Frances Murphy | Riverside | Riverside | | | | | |
| Oliver Henderson | San Antonio | | | | | | |
| Carolyn Cumbie | Savannah Beach | | | | | | |
| Wayring Smathers | South Carolina | Columbia | | | | | |
| Margaret Julia Jardon | South Jersey | Burlington | | | | | |
| Wauneta Bates | St. Louis | St. Louis | | | Top 16 | | |
| Kathryn H. Kendrick | Sunnybrook | Sunnybrook | | | | | |
| Alice Emerick | Texas | Fort Worth | | Tap Dance | 1st Runner-up | | |
| Irene Alice Vanderburgh | Troy | Watervliet | | | | | |
| Frances Lee Sultan | Virginia | Kecoughtan | | | Top 16 | | |
| Juliana Bernhardt | Washington | Seattle | | | | | |
| Evelyn Raye | Westchester County | New Rochelle | | | Top 16 | | |
| Mary Ann McLaughlin | Wyoming | Riverton | | | | | |