Miss USA 1963

Miss USA 1963, the 12th Miss USA pageant, took place in Miami Beach, Florida on July 17, 1963. The pageant was won by Marite Ozers of Illinois, who was crowned by outgoing titleholder Macel Leilani Wilson of Hawaii. Latvian-born Ozers was the first woman born outside the U.S. to take the Miss USA title, and the second delegate from Illinois to do so. Ozers went on to finish as a Top 15 semi-finalist at Miss Universe 1963. This was the first Miss USA to be broadcast on television, first aired on CBS that would be remained in the next 39 years.

Miss USA 1963
Date	July 17, 1963
Venue	Miami Beach, Florida
Entrants	43
Placements	15
Withdrawals	Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming
Winner	Marite Ozers Illinois

First runner-up Michele Metrinko later won the Miss World USA 1963 pageant and finished as a Top 14 semi-finalist at Miss World 1963. Metrinko's sister Marsha also competed in Miss USA 1963 – the only instance to date of two sisters competing against each other at the same pageant.

Results

Final results	Contestant
Miss USA 1963	Illinois – Marite Ozers
1st runner-up	District of Columbia – Michele Metrinko
2nd runner-up	Missouri – Sandra Marlin
3rd runner-up	Colorado – Rhea Looney
4th runner-up	California - Francine Herack
Top 15	Alabama – Dinah Armstrong Arizona – Diane McGarry Massachusetts – Sandra Smith Michigan – Pamela Sands Nevada – Kathee Francis New Mexico – Sandra Fullingim New York – Jeanne Quinn Oklahoma – Roberta Mosier South Carolina – Cecelia Yoder Tennessee – Bobbie Morrow

Historical significance

• Illinois wins competition for the second time.
• District of Columbia earns the 1st runner-up position for the first time.
• Missouri earns the 2nd runner-up position for the second time. The last time it placed this was in 1952.
• Colorado earns the 3rd runner-up position for the first time.
• California earns the 4th runner-up position for the first time.
• States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Nevada, New York and Tennessee.
• California and New York placed for the seventh consecutive year.
• Nevada placed for the third consecutive year.
• Arizona, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois and Tennessee made their second consecutive placement.
• Alabama, Massachusetts, Michigan last placed in 1961.
• Missouri last placed in 1960.
• South Carolina last placed in 1958.
• New Mexico last placed in 1955.
• Oklahoma last placed in 1952.
• Connecticut and Utah break an ongoing streak of placements since 1960.

Delegates

The Miss USA 1963 delegates were:

Alabama - Dinah Armstrong Alaska - Nina Whaley Arizona - Diane McGarry Arkansas - Cheryl Bechtelheimer California - Francine Herack Colorado - Rhea Looney Connecticut - Gail Dinan Delaware - Susan Kowalski District of Columbia - Michele Metrinko Florida - Linda Egland Georgia - Brenda Seagraves Hawaii - Susan Molina Illinois - Marite Ozers Indiana - Vickie Little Iowa - Ramona Meylor Kansas - Diane Stalker Kentucky - Mary Arnold Louisiana - Peggy Romero Maine - Laurel Barker Maryland - Marsha Metrinko Massachusetts - Sandra Smith Michigan - Pamela Sands

Mississippi - Joan Kinnebrew Missouri - Sandra Marlin Nebraska - Sandy Zimmer Nevada - Kathee Francis New Hampshire - Johnnye McLeod New Jersey - Judy Ayers New Mexico - Sandra Fullingim New York - Jeanne Quinn North Carolina - Trudy Cauthen Ohio - Gloria McBride Oklahoma - Roberta Mosier Oregon - Joset Fisher Pennsylvania - Deborah Cardonick Rhode Island - Rosemary Dickinson South Carolina - Cecelia Yoder Tennessee - Bobbie Morrow Texas - Cheryl Wilburn Utah - Carla Dinius Vermont - Ellen Centerbar West Virginia - Nina Denton Wisconsin - Lynn Korchunoff

No state delegate: Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming

External links

• Miss USA official website