Year Word Champion Sponsor
1925 gladiolus Frank NeuhauserLouisville- Courier Journal, Louisville, Ky.
1926 cerise Pauline BellLouisville- Courier Journal, Louisville, Ky.
1927 luxuriance Dean Lucas- Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio.
1928 albumen Betty Robinson- South Bend News-Tribune, South Bend, Ind.
1929 asceticism Virginia Hogan- The Omaha World-Herald, Omaha, Neb.
1930 fracas Helen Jensen- Des Moines Register and Tribune, Des Moines, Iowa
1931 foulard Ward Randall- White Hall Register-Republican, White Hall, Ill.
1932 knack Dorothy Greenwalk- Des Moines Register and Tribune, Des Moines, Iowa
1933 torsion Alma Roach- Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio
1934 deteriorating Sarah Wilson- Portland Evening Express, Portland, Maine
1935 intelligible Clara Mohler- Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio
1936 interning Jean Trowbridge- Des Moines Register and Tribune, Des Moines, Iowa
1937 promiscuous Waneeta Beckley- Louisville-Courier Journal, Louisville, Ky.
1938 sanitarium Marian Richardson- Louisville-Courier Journal, Louisville, Ky.
1939 canonical Elizabeth Ann Rice- Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Worcester, Mass.
1940 therapy Laurel Kuykendall- The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Knoxville, Tenn.
1941 initials Louis Edward Sissman- Detroit News, Detroit, Mich.
1942 sacrilegious Richard Earnhart- El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso, Texas
1943-45 Bee not held due to World War II
1946 semaphore John McKinney- Des Moines Register and Tribune, Des Moines, Iowa
1947 chlorophyll Mattie Lou Pollard- Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, Ga.
1948 psychiatry Jean Chappelear- Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio
1949 dulcimer Kim Calvin- Canton Repository, Canton, Ohio
1950 meticulosity Diana Reynard and Colquitt Dean- Cleveland Press, Cleveland, Ohio and Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, Ga.
1951 insouciant Irving Belz- Memphis Press Scimitar, Memphis, Tenn.
1952 vignette Doris Ann Hall- Winston-Salem Journal, Winston-Salem, N.C.
1953 soubrette Elizabeth Hess- Arizona Republic, Phoenix, Ariz.
1954 transept William Cashore- Norristown, Pa.
1955 crustaceology Sandra Sloss- St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, Mo.
1956 condominium Melody Sachko- The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pa.
1957 schappe Sandra Owen and Dana Bennett- Canton Repository, Canton, Ohio and Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colo.
1958 syllepsis Jolitta SchlehuberTopeka- Daily Capital, Topeka, Kan.
1959 catamaran Joel MontgomeryRocky- Mountain News, Denver, Colo.
1960 eudaemonic Henry Feldman- The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Knoxville, Tenn.
1961 smaragdine John CapehartTulsa- Tribune, Tulsa, Okla.
1962 esquamulose Nettie Crawford and Michael Day- El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso, Texas and St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, Mo.
1963 equipage Glen Van Slyke III- The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Knoxville, Tenn.
1964 sycophant William Kerek- Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio
1965 eczema Michael Kerpan Jr.- Tulsa Tribune, Tulsa, Okla.
1966 ratoon Robert A. Wake- Houston Chronicle, Houston, Texas
1967 Chihuahua Jennifer Reinke- The Omaha World-Herald, Omaha, Neb.
1968 abalone Robert L. Walters- The Topeka Daily Capital, Topeka, Kan.
1969 interlocutory Susan Yoachum- Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas
1970 croissant Libby Childress- Winston-Salem Journal and Sentinel, Winston-Salem, N.C.
1971 shalloon Jonathan Knisely- Philadelphia Bulletin, Philadelphia, Pa.
1972 macerate Robin Kral- Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Lubbock, Texas
1973 vouchsafe Barrie Trinkle- Fort Worth Press, Fort Worth, Texas
1974 hydrophyte Julie Ann Junkin- Birmingham Post-Herald, Birmingham, Ala.
1975 incisor Hugh Tosteson- San Juan Star, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1976 narcolepsy Tim Kneale- Syracuse Herald Journal-American, Syracuse, N.Y.
1977 cambist John Paola- The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pa.
1978 deification Peg McCarthy- The Topeka Capital-Journal, Topeka, Kan.
1979 maculature Katie Kerwin- Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colo.
1980 elucubrate Jacques Bailly- Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colo.
1981 sarcophagus Paige Pipkin- El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso, Texas
1982 psoriasis Molly Dieveney- Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colo.
1983 Purim Blake Giddens- El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso, Texas
1984 luge Daniel Greenblatt- Loudoun Times-Mirror, Leesburg, Va.
1985 milieu Balu Natarajan- Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill.
1986 odontalgia Jon Pennington- The Patriot News, Harrisburg, Pa.
1987 staphylococci Stephanie Petit- The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pa.
1988 elegiacal Rageshree Ramachandran- The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, Calif.
1989 spoliator Scott Isaacs- Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colo.
1990 fibranne Amy Marie Dimak- The Seattle Times, Seattle, Wash.
1991 antipyretic Joanne Lagatta- The Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Wis.
1992 lyceum Amanda Goad- The Richmond News Leader, Richmond, Va.
1993 kamikaze Geoff Hooper- The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.
1994 antediluvian Ned G. Andrews- The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Knoxville, Tenn.
1995 xanthosis Justin Tyler Carroll- The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.
1996 vivisepulture Wendy Guey- The
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