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1963 National Finals

The 1st National Bible Quiz Finals took place August 23-24, 1963 at First A/G in Memphis, Tennessee covering the book of Luke. Lee Schultz was the National Coordinator and Stan Walters was the official question writer.

The event was won by Bouldercrest A/G, Atlanta, GA. The second place team was First A/G, Plainview, TX.

The team from Bouldercrest A/G, Atlanta, GA later moved to Decatur, GA where they won two more Nationals in 1976 and 1978 for a total of 3 National Championships, a record which was duplicated by First A/G, New Orleans, LA (‘71, ‘83 and ‘84) and Orange Hills A/G, Orange, CA (‘99, ‘02 and ‘03). The record was broken by The Church at Briargate, Colorado Springs, CO when they won their fourth championship (‘01, ‘04, ‘06 and ‘07). This same church moved again to Centerville, GA where even today they have a Bible Quiz team.

The first National Bible Quiz Finals was a single elimination tournament with the first place teams from the eight regions participating. The single elimination format was used for the first three years of the event. In addition, the championship match was played in the evening in front of 7,000 General Council attendees! Now what teams out there would like to have a single elimination format and then a final in front of a crowd like that?!

Complete records for this event are available on this site. However, we only have the scores of the rounds involving the championship team although we do know the competitors and results of each round. Therefore, if you have any additional information related to this please e-mail [email protected].

Please read a personal account of the first National Bible Quiz Finals by Scott Laurens, captain and top scorer of the first place team.

Results

Section titled “Results”

Teams

Section titled “Teams”
#TeamWLTotalAvgMarginAvg Margin
1Bouldercrest A/G, Atlanta, GA*30520173.3319565
2First A/G, Plainview, TX*21????
3Neighborhood Church, Bellevue, WA11????
3Central Assembly, Cumberland, MD11????
5Calvary A/G, Brush, CO01????
5First A/G, Lima, OH01140140-20-20
5Glad Tidings A/G, Omaha, NE01????
5Rose Bud A/G, Rose Bud, AR01????

* Won in playoff.

Individuals

Section titled “Individuals”

The first National Bible Quiz Tournament in 1963 did not announce the top quizzers. The tournament was single elimination meaning that the maximum number of quizzes a team could play was 3. Therefore, it is difficult to determine who was the top quizzer. In the final quiz for first place, Scott Laurens of Bouldercrest A/G, Atlanta, GA, who had been the top scorer on his team in the previous two rounds, was the top quizzer as his team won the tournament.

Teams

Section titled “Teams”

Great Lakes Region

Section titled “Great Lakes Region”
  • Church: First A/G, Lima, OH
  • Pastor: Thomas E. Hartshorn
  • Coach: Wayne E. Hyvarinen
  • Team:
    • Bunny Frost
    • Robert L. Hartshorn
    • Sandra Hembree
    • Melanie Sheely
    • Edward Wheeler

Gulf Region

Section titled “Gulf Region”
  • Church: Rose Bud A/G, Rose Bud, AR
  • Pastor: John H. Young
  • Coach: John H. Young
  • Team:
    • Peggy Caldwell
    • Margaret Young
    • Patsy Young
    • Reta Young
    • Thelma Young

North Central Region

Section titled “North Central Region”
  • Church: Glad Tidings A/G, Omaha, NE
  • Pastor: L.E. King
  • Coach: Paul Sturgeon
  • Team:
    • Debbie Jones
    • Harold Jones
    • Stanley Sturgeon
    • Craig Swope
    • Byron Wilkinson
    • Vicki Wilkinson

Northeast Region

Section titled “Northeast Region”
  • Church: Central Assembly, Cumberland, MD
  • Pastor: Frank J. Fratto
  • Coach: Wendel Cover
  • Team:
    • Rebecca Blubaugh
    • Roxy Hartley
    • Kay McCray
    • Patty Murphy

Northwest Region

Section titled “Northwest Region”
  • Church: Neighborhood Church, Bellevue, WA
  • Pastor: Earl J. Hance
  • Coach: Earl J. Hance
  • Team:
    • Paulette Christenson
    • Joyce Jesse
    • Dennis Lager
    • Dan Secrist

South Central Region

Section titled “South Central Region”
  • Church: First A/G, Plainview, TX
  • Pastor: J. Don George
  • Coach: J. Don George
  • Team:
    • Drucilla Gibson
    • Shawna Gilly
    • Lucielle Howard
    • Lena Johnson
    • Gary Page
    • Alyce Young

Southeast Region

Section titled “Southeast Region”
  • Church: Bouldercrest A/G, Atlanta, GA
  • Pastor: Eugene Gustafson
  • Coaches: Cleta Gustafson, Pat Cobb
  • Team:
    • George Bates
    • Barbara Gregg
    • Brenda Gregg
    • Rusty Laurens
    • Scott Laurens
    • Ronnie Pruett

Southwest Region

Section titled “Southwest Region”
  • Church: Calvary A/G, Brush, CO
  • Pastor: Paul Baugher
  • Coach: Mrs. Crosswaite
  • Team:
    • John Crosswaite
    • Kenneth Crosswaite
    • Mary Dine
    • Ruth Dine

Memories

Section titled “Memories”