National Scripps Spelling Bee

Champions, Sponsors and Winning Words - 1925 to 2005. For more info visit the website here

1925
Frank Neuhauser, Louisville Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky
gladiolus

1926
Pauline Bell, Louisville Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky
abrogate

1927
Dean Lucas, Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio
luxuriance

1928
Betty Robinson, South Bend News-Tribune, South Bend, Indiana
albumen

1929
Virginia Hogan, The Omaha World-Herald, Omaha, Nebraska
asceticism

1930
Helen Jensen, Des Moines Register & Tribune, Des Moines, Iowa
fracas

1931
Ward Randall, White Hall Register-Republican, White Hall, Illinois
foulard

1932
Dorothy Greenwald, Des Moines Register & Tribune, Des Moines, Iowa
knack

1933
Alma Roach, Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio
torsion

1934
Sarah Wilson, Portland Evening Express, Portland, Maine
deteriorating

1935
Clara Mohler, Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio
intelligible

1936
Jean Trowbridge, Des Moines Register & Tribune, Des Moines, Iowa
interning

1937
Waneeta Beckley, Louisville Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky
promiscuous

1938
Marian Richardson, Louisville Times, Louisville, Kentucky
sanitarium

1939
Elizabeth Ann Rice, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Massachusetts
canonical

1940
Laurel Kuykendall, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Knoxville, Tennessee
therapy

1941
Louis Edward Sissman, Detroit News, Detroit, Michigan
initials

1942
Richard Earnhart, El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso, Texas
sacrilegious

1946
John McKinney, Des Moines Register & Tribune, Des Moines, Iowa
semaphore

1947
Mattie Lou Pollard, Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, Georgia
chlorophyll

1948
Jean Chappelear, Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio
psychiatry

1949
Kim Calvin, Canton Repository, Canton, Ohio
dulcimer

1950
Diana Reynard, Cleveland Press, Cleveland, Ohio
meticulosity

1950
Colquitt Dean, Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, Georgia
meticulosity

1951
Irving Belz, Memphis Press-Scimitar, Memphis, Tennessee
insouciant

1952
Doris Ann Hall, Winston-Salem Journal, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
vignette

1953
Elizabeth Hess, Arizona Republic, Phoenix, Arizona
soubrette

1954
William Cashore, Norristown Times Herald, Norristown, Pennsylvania
transept

1955
Sandra Sloss, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, Missouri
crustaceology

1956
Melody Sachko, The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
condominium

1957
Sandra Owen, Canton Repository, Canton, Ohio
schappe

1957
Dana Bennett, Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colorado
schappe

1958
Jolitta Schlehuber, Topeka Daily Capital, Topeka, Kansas
syllepsis

1959
Joel Montgomery, Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colorado
catamaran

1960
Henry Feldman, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Knoxville, Tennessee
eudaemonic

1961
John Capehart, Tulsa Tribune, Tulsa, Oklahoma
smaragdine

1962
Nettie Crawford, El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso, Texas
esquamulose

1962
Michael Day, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, Missouri
esquamulose

1963
Glen Van Slyke III, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Knoxville, Tennessee
equipage

1964
William Kerek, Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio
sycophant

1965
Michael Kerpan Jr., Tulsa Tribune, Tulsa, Oklahoma
eczema

1966
Robert A. Wake, Houston Chronicle, Houston, Texas
ratoon

1967
Jennifer Reinke, The Omaha World-Herald, Omaha, Nebraska
chihuahua

1968
Robert L. Walters, Topeka Daily Capital, Topeka, Kansas
abalone

1969
Susan Yoachum, Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas
interlocutory

1970
Libby Childress, Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
croissant

1971
Jonathan Knisely, Philadelphia Bulletin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
shalloon

1972
Robin Kral, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Lubbock, Texas
macerate

1973
Barrie Trinkle, Fort Worth Press, Fort Worth, Texas
vouchsafe

1974
Julie Ann Junkin, Birmingham Post-Herald, Birmingham, Alabama
hydrophyte

1975
Hugh Tosteson, San Juan Star, San Juan, Puerto Rico
incisor

1976
Tim Kneale, Syracuse Herald Journal-American, Syracuse, New York
narcolepsy

1977
John Paola, The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
cambist

1978
Peg McCarthy, The Topeka Capital-Journal, Topeka, Kansas
deification

1979
Katie Kerwin, Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colorado
maculature

1980
Jacques Bailly, Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colorado
elucubrate

1981
Paige Pipkin, El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso, Texas
sarcophagus

1982
Molly Dieveney, Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colorado
psoriasis

1983
Blake Giddens, El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso, Texas
Purim

1984
Daniel Greenblatt, Loudoun Times-Mirror, Leesburg, Virginia
luge

1985
Balu Natarajan, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois
milieu

1986
Jon Pennington, The Patriot News, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
odontalgia

1987
Stephanie Petit, The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
staphylococci

1988
Rageshree Ramachandran, The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California
elegiacal

1989
Scott Isaacs, Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colorado
spoliator

1990
Amy Marie Dimak, The Seattle Times, Seattle, Washington
fibranne

1991
Joanne Lagatta, The Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Wisconsin
antipyretic

1992
Amanda Goad, The Richmond News Leader, Richmond, Virginia
lyceum

1993
Geoff Hooper, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee
kamikaze

1994
Ned G. Andrews, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Knoxville, Tennessee
antediluvian

1995
Justin Tyler Carroll, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee
xanthosis

1996
Wendy Guey, The Palm Beach Post, West Palm Beach, Florida
vivisepulture

1997
Rebecca Sealfon, Daily News, New York, New York
euonym

1998
Jody-Anne Maxwell, Phillips & Phillips Stationery Suppliers, Ltd., Kingston, Jamaica
chiaroscurist

1999
Nupur Lala, The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida
logorrhea

2000
George Abraham Thampy, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Missouri
demarche

2001
Sean Conley, Aitkin Independent Age, Aitkin, Minnesota
succedaneum

2002
Pratyush Buddiga, Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colorado
Prospicience

2003
Sai R. Gunturi, The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas
Pococurante

2004
David Scott Pilarski Tidmarsh, South Bend Tribune, South Bend, Indiana
autochthonous

2005
Anurag Kashyap , The San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego, California
appoggiatura