Thus, "newspapers as far west as Pittsburgh and as far south as Washington, D.C., were asked to sponsor local beauty contests. The winners would participate in the Atlantic City contest. If the local newspaper would pay for the winner's wardrobe, the Atlantic City Businessmen's League would pay for the contestant's travel to compete in the Inter-City Beauty Contest." Herb Test, a "newspaperman", coined the term for the winner: "Miss America." On September 8, 1921, 100,000 people gathered at the Boardwalk to watch the contestants from Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Ocean City, Camden, Newark, New York City, and Philadelphia. Out of the nine contestants, the two frontrunners were Virginia Lee and Margaret Gorman. A conflict ensued when the judges disqualified 22-year-old Lee at the last minute because she was deemed to be a professional rather than an amateur like the other contestants due to the fact that she was 1) a working actress, 2) married, and 3) a friend of the competition's chief judge.The 16-year-old winner from Washington, D.C., Margaret Gorman, was crowned the "Golden Mermaid" and won $100.
