It was an ordinary day. Reading my local Sunday News when I came across a column known as 'Lancaster That Was' in the "Living" Section of the newspaper. There was a story titled Lancaster woman was 'Jeopardy!' champ in 1972. The column features stories from the past.... usually stories from 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago. Well, the "25 years ago section" told of cellphone usage increasing throughout the 1990s and the battles over the placement of a new cellular tower. Opinion about the proposed tower on Pheasant Ridge was thought to be evenly divided, so they decided to vote with the understanding that if most residents opposed the tower, Pheasant Ridge would decline to sign a lease with Cellular One. Rather boring story to say the least compared to the story from 50 years ago. This story told of a local woman, Mrs. Jane Gschwend, who was competing in the "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions in 1972. She had to face a New Jersey dentist and a New York businessman in the match that pitted the top three earners of all time against one another.
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| Jane Gschwend, "Jeopardy" Tournament of Champions winner. |
At the time a champion was limited to winning five episodes of the show. Mrs. Gschwend had amassed $8,250 after winning her five contests. Up until 2003, Jeopardy champions could only win five times before they had to leave the show. Brad Rutter, a Manheim Township High School graduate where I taught, had won five times in 2000 and had to leave the show undefeated. Since that time he has competed against other long-time winners such as Ken Jennings and has also won two Chevrolet Camaros. He also won the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions winning $2,115,000. Perhaps he would have been the all-time winner had he not had restrictions in place when he competed. As for Mrs. Jane Gschwend, "Jeopardy" was a daytime game show at the time and had been hosted by Art Fleming since its debut in 1964. She did tip off the Sunday News, which she wasn't supposed to do at the time, as to the outcome of her match which was set to air about a week after the newspaper interviewed her. She mentioned winning the "bonus prize" of a 1,000 book paperback library which she planned to donate to the Lancaster County Library. At the time, only the winner of the Tournament of Champions got that particular prize, though she said no one had told her not to discuss the rest of the show with the media. As for her cash prize of $8,250, she reported that she would donate it to Hiram College in Ohio, her alma mater. For those who happen to watch "Jeopardy" daily, the amount that she won seems minute compared to what is amassed on the current show. But, that was 50 years ago and so much has changed since that time. Heavens, that amount can be won before the show is even half over on any one particular evening. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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