Miss America, there she wasn't.

[cyclingday]

I've always been intrigued by the advertisement for Musselman Olympic Hubs.
It features a nude Miss America with the suggestion, that only a pair of Musselman Olympic hubs can make your bike as sexy as Miss America.
That got me thinking about the beauty queen who posed nude for an ad about bicycle hubs.
Pretty risqué stuff for 1939.
Bette Cooper, the reluctant Miss America.

 

[cyclingday]

 

[vincev]

AHHHH.....The good old days.More Miss Americas should follow the path of this beauty queen.lol

 

[scrubbinrims]

Hubba, Hubba!

 

[Maskadeo]

That ad gives a whole new meaning to hub polisher!

 

[jkent]

So......... who wants to be back in 1939 right now?
JKent

 

[mickeyc]

Where's the proof that the nude is actually Ms. Cooper? Somebody as resistant to publicity as she obviously was is going to pose nude and allow the photo to be used in advertisements?

Mike

 

[cyclingday]

I know, I thought the same thing.
The Musselman ad was published in May 1939, so maybe her decision to shun the spotlight and not partake in the publicity tours, hurt her financial well being, by then, and she figured she should cash in on her notoriety while it was still viable, to help pay for her college tuition.
I searched the Miss America winners of the era, and Bette Cooper is the only one that resembled the figure in the Musselman advertisement.
Besides, it's a good story.
You know what they say?
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story. Lol!

 

[Freqman1]

A great story regardless of who is on the actual poster. This was the first bike related poster I bought and still one of my favorites. Thanks for the story Marty. V/r Shawn