It’s been 21 years since Colorado claimed its seventh national spelling bee champion, but that still ranks it tied for third for the nation’s best spellers.
On May 31 and June 1, the 95th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, the culmination of a series of local spelling tournaments taken on by students all over the country, will finish at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md.
Using Wikipedia’s list of Scripps National Spelling Bee champions, BetColorado.com — which covers Colorado sports betting — broke down which states are home to the most champions.
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Where Are The Best Spellers From?
| State | Number of Spelling Bee Winners |
| Texas | 15 |
| Ohio | 9 |
| Pennsylvania | 7 |
| Colorado | 7 |
| California | 6 |
| Tennessee | 5 |
| Kansas | 5 |
| Kentucky | 4 |
| Iowa | 4 |
| Missouri | 4 |
| Indiana | 3 |
| Oklahoma | 3 |
| New York | 3 |
| New Jersey | 3 |
| Nebraska | 2 |
| Illinois | 2 |
| Georgia | 2 |
| North Carolina | 2 |
| Alabama | 2 |
| Virginia | 2 |
| Florida | 2 |
| Maine | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 1 |
| Michigan | 1 |
| Arizona | 1 |
| Washington | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 1 |
| Minnesota | 1 |
| Louisiana | 1 |
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Schappe, Prospicience Spell Victory
Dana Bennett won Colorado’s first spelling crown when she tied with Sandra Owen after both spelled “schappe” correctly in 1957. Joel Montgomery won two years later in 1959 and then from 1979 to 1989 the state had four winners. Katie Kerwin won in 1979, followed by Jacques Bailey in 1980, Molly Dieveney in 1982 and Scott Isaacs in 1989.
The last Colorado winner was Pratyush Buddiga from Denver in 2002 after he spelled “prospicience,” which means foresight. Buddiga, who was born in New Zealand and moved to the United States when he was 5, spent some time playing professional poker and now he’s involved with a venture capital firm.
So, while the state may be a longshot — if Colorado betting apps took wagers on such things — because it hasn’t had a winner since 2002, it still has a strong history of spelling bee winners.
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Author
Douglas Pils has been a sports journalist for 30 years in Texas, Arkansas and New York having worked for the San Antonio Express-News, the Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News and Newsday. He most recently ran the Student Media Department at Texas A&M for eight years.
