The 46th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. at the Mayflower Hotel on June 13-14, 1973, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company. The winner was 13-year old Barrie Trinkle, a seventh-grader at McLean Middle School in Fort Worth, Texas, spelling "vouchsafe." It was her third time in the national bee; she had finished fifth the prior year (and 28th in 1971), and wore the same blue jumper (her "lucky" dress) that she had worn in her prior bees. Second place went to 14-year old Stephen Hayes of Oxon Hill, Maryland, who fell on "onomastics."