The 23rd Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, District of Columbia on Friday, May 26, 1950, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company, at the National Press Club auditorium.[2]
| 23rd Scripps National Spelling Bee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | Friday, May 26, 1950 |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Winner | Diana Reynard and Colquitt Dean (tie) |
| Age | 12 (Reynard) 14 (Dean) |
| Residence | East Cleveland, Ohio (Reynard) College Park, Georgia (Dean) |
| Sponsor | Cleveland Press (Reynard) Atlanta Journal (Dean) |
| Sponsor location | Cleveland, Ohio (Reynard) Atlanta, Georgia (Dean) |
| Winning word | meticulosity |
| No. of contestants | 50[1] |
| Pronouncer | Benson S. Alleman |
| Preceded by | 22nd Scripps National Spelling Bee |
| Followed by | 24th Scripps National Spelling Bee |
The co-winners were 12-year-old Diana Reynard of East Cleveland, Ohio and 14-year-old Colquitt Dean of College Park, Georgia. This was the first time in National Spelling Bee history that the word list was exhausted and co-champions had to be declared. The final word was meticulosity. Each received the first place prize of $500 and a trip to New York. Third place went to Jim Bernhard of Houston, Texas, who missed "haruspex", and received $300.[3][4]
The field of spellers was reduced to Reynard and Dean after 29 rounds, and they both correctly spelled a number of following words. Dean was almost excluded on "ferule" until the judges determined it was a proper spelling. The two continued until the Bee's third and final supplementary word list had been used up.[5] Dean politely refused requests to embrace Reynard for photographers, fearing the reaction it might cause back home to be seen hugging a girl.[6]
There were 50 spellers that year – 31 girls and 19 boys. Audrey Mathews was the first one eliminated for the spelling "supercede", but was reinstated after the judges found that it was listed in Webster's dictionary as a variant spelling for the normal "supersede".[1]
References
edit- ^ a b (26 May 1950). Webster Saves Girl Speller, Evening Independent (Associated Press)
- ^ (24 May 1950). Spelling Champs Tour Capital Before Big Contest on Friday, Salem News (Ohio) ("before the big test Friday at 9 a.m. in the National Press Club auditorium")
- ^ (27 May 1950). Run Out of Words: Award 2 Prize, Daytona Morning Beach Journal (Associated Press)
- ^ Bernhard, Jim (1 June 2015), To Bee or Not to Bee, Words Going Wild (Blogpost by Bernhard posted in 2015)
- ^ Maguire, James. American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds, p. 74-75(2006)
- ^ (30 May 1950). Spelling Judges Ran Out of Words, Sydney Morning Herald