The Miss Philadelphia Pageant

When the Miss America Pageant was created in 1921, many contestants went directly from their cities to Atlantic City. Three Miss Philadelphias – Ruth Malcomson (1924), Rose Coyle (1936) and Frances Burke (1940) – became Miss America as Miss Philadelphia. Miss Philadelphia competed directly at Miss America until 1952. In 1954, Miss Philadelphia, Barbara Sue Nager, won the Miss Pennsylvania title and became third runner-up in the Miss America Pageant. Only one other Miss Philadelphia – Gale Rothwell (1966) has won the Miss Pennsylvania crown, and Gale was a Non-Finalist Talent Winner at the Miss America Pageant.

1989 marked an end of the sponsorship of the Miss Philadelphia Pageant by the Optimist Club of Germantown and several other independent groups. In 1996, Colonel Kevin McAleese revived the Miss Philadelphia Program. Since 1996, the program has grown to be one of the most successful and largest scholarship providers of any local pageant in the Miss America system.

The Miss Philadelphia Scholarship Program is geared towards scholarship, community service and commitment to providing each and every contestant that competes with the opportunity to grow personally, professionally and scholastically. Our former Miss Philadelphias are doctors, lawyers, teachers, media personalities, and professors! We look forward to many more years of continued success and opportunities for the young women in the five county Philadelphia area.