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Phil's Past Predictions

Countless experts have completed a plethora of data collection and analysis, and beyond a shadow of a doubt, Phil is indeed 100% accurate. Any interpretation of this data by secondary experts, meteorologists, and others are feeble attempts to undermine the statistics below. To quote our Inner Circle president, "There are a lot of important events in life, and Groundhog Day is not one of them."

1886Groundhog Day first recognized in Punxsutawney by Weathers Wags. No Record  1948Saw Shadow at 8:46 AM; Dr. Frank Lorenzo was interviewed on KDKA Radio's "Brunch With Bill" program.
1887First Official trek to Gobbler's Knob Saw Shadow.  1949Saw Shadow at 7:32 AM.
1888Saw Shadow.  1950No Shadow; Colleen Townsend, actress, was in town to promote the film, "When Willie Comes Marching Home."
1889No Record.  1951Saw Shadow at 8:41 AM; Pictured with cheerleaders from PHS and SSCD. Betty Byers, Joan Wadding, Dorothy Armstrong and Kathleen Spinelli.
1890No Shadow.  1952Saw Shadow at 7:52 AM; First appearance of Frau Groundhog, Groundhog procession and shadow. Casting was on Dave Garroway's TV Show on NBC on Monday, February 4.
1891No Record.  1953Saw Shadow at 7:38 AM; First year with Sam Light as Groundhog Club president; First Man-of-the-Year Award goes to Ben Levy.
1892No Record.  1954Saw Shadow at 8:03 AM; The groundhog was turned completely white from worry.
1893No Record.  1955Saw Shadow at 8:51 AM; 4-inch snowfall on Groundhog Day; Coverage on three TV stations.
1894No Record.  1956Saw Shadow 8:33 AM.
1895No Record.  1957Saw Shadow 7:47 AM.
1896No Record.  1958Saw Shadow at 8:27 AM; Prepared for blast-off in his "Chucknik" spacecraft; First Woman-of-the-Year Award was given to Mrs. Louis (Olive) Woodring.
1897No Record.  1959Saw Shadow at 8:23 AM; Announces that he has returned from a successful trip to the moon.
1898Saw Shadow.  1960Saw Shadow at 7:33 AM, forecasts extremely bad weather; appearance on the "Today" show.
1899No Record. Groundhog Club founded  1961Saw Shadow at 7:41 AM; 25 below zero.
1900Saw Shadow.  1962Saw Shadow at 7:29 AM; Just returned from second trip to the moon.
1901Saw Shadow.  1963Saw Shadow at 7:41 AM; Unusually dark shadow.
1902Probably No Shadow.  1964Saw Shadow.
1903Saw Shadow.  1965Saw Shadow shortly before 8 AM.
1904Saw Shadow.  1966Saw Shadow at 7:21 AM.
1905Saw Shadow.  1967Saw Shadow 7:25 AM.
1906Saw Shadow.  1968Saw Shadow 7:29 AM.
1907Saw Shadow. First Official Trek to Gobblers Knob  1969Saw Shadow 7:29 AM.
1908Saw Shadow; First front page coverage.  1970No Shadow.
1909Saw Shadow.  1971Saw Shadow at 7:29 AM; 14 below zero.
1910Saw Shadow.  1972Saw Shadow 7:30 AM.
1911Saw Shadow; "55 couples at Groundhog Day Dance."  1973Saw Shadow 7:29 AM.
1912Saw Shadow.  1974Saw Shadow 8:28 AM.
1913Saw Shadow at 8:08 AM; first newspaper photo of Groundhog by John Frampton. A new dance "The Groundhog Roll" was demonstrated by Joe Winslow.  1975No Shadow; Declared at 7:31 AM.
1914Saw Shadow at 9:34 AM, Groundhog demonstrated "The Groundhog Flop"  1976Saw Shadow at 7:29 AM.
1915Saw Shadow at 11:45 AM; His name - Wiley William Woodchuck!  1977Saw Shadow at 7:27; In midst of energy crisis.
1916Saw Shadow at 9:07; First films of the event.  1978Saw Shadow at 7:28 AM.
1917Saw Shadow at 9:07.  1979Saw Shadow at 7:28 AM.
1918Saw Shadow; Temperature 18 below zero.  1980Saw Shadow at 7:29 AM.
1919Saw Shadow.  1981Saw Shadow at 7:27 AM.
1920Saw Shadow.  1982Saw Shadow 7:26 AM; After coldest January in more than a century.
1921Saw Shadow at 7:17 AM.  1983No Shadow; Peered over at 7:29 AM, but saw no shadow; predicted an early spring after a mild winter.
1922Saw Shadow 7:11 AM; Groundhog Holiday Dance.  1984Saw Shadow shortly after 7 AM.
1923Saw Shadow.  1985Saw Shadow at 7:28 AM.
1924Saw Shadow 7:13 AM; First appearance of logo with groundhog with umbrella and newspaper  1986No Shadow! Visited President Reagan at the White House in March.
1925Saw Shadow 8:13 AM; CJ Margiotti gave groundhog tradition to the Pittsburgh Travel Club.  1987Saw Shadow 7:29 AM.
1926Saw Shadow at 9:17 AM.  1988No Shadow.
1927Saw Shadow at 8:35 AM.  1989Saw Shadow.
1928Saw Shadow at 10 AM; Program with Punx'y Rotary Club was on KDKA Radio.  1990No Shadow.
1929Predicted six more weeks of winter before sunrise.  1991Saw Shadow.
1930Saw Shadow at 7:11 AM.  1992Saw Shadow.
1931Saw Shadow at 12:27 AM.  1993Saw Shadow. "Groundhog Day" The movie with Bill Murray was released in time for PHIL'S Prediction.
1932Saw Shadow at 9:11 AM.  1994Saw Shadow 7:28 AM.
1933Saw Shadow.  1995No Shadow. Guested on the Oprah Winfrey TV Show and made new fans.
1934No Shadow.  1996Saw Shadow 7:21 AM. So cold he dug deep to make his prediction.
1935Saw Shadow at 9:11 AM.  1997No Shadow 7:25 AM. Made his 110th prediction. Largest crowd the Knob has seen 35,000 people
1936Saw Shadow at 10:27 AM.  1998Saw Shadow 7:20 AM. Six more weeks of "El Nino" Winter
1937Saw Shadow at 9:09 AM; Unfortunate meeting with a skunk.  1999Over 15,000 people celebrated as Phil saw no shadow at 7:23 AM and predicted and early spring
1938Saw Shadow at 9 AM; Blackest shadow in history.  2000It was the dawn of a new "Phillenium" and 12-degrees at Gobbler's Knob when Phil saw his shadow at 7:28 AM.
1939Saw Shadow at 9:10 AM.  2001Phil's prediction of 6 more weeks of winter weather was displayed on the Astrovision in New York's Time Square.
1940Saw Shadow at 9 AM; Pictured with first Groundhog Day Queen, Miss Margaret Hunam.  2002Phil saw his shadow at the largest event in 116 year history with estimated 30,000 people celebrating 02/02/02
1941Saw Shadow at 4:25 PM; Six Groundhog Girls.  2003Phil saw his shadow at 7:25 AM as Pennsylvania's newly elected Governor Ed Rendell looked on from Gobbler's Knob.
1942Partial Shadow at 7:40 AM; "War clouds have blacked out parts of the shadow." ("The Spirit," Feb. 2, 1942).  2004Phil saw his shadow at 7:27 in 8 degree weather. Event was webcast live on www.groundhog.org.
1943Groundhog didn't make an appearance; need to rely on Quarryville's prediction.  2005The sky was clear as Phil saw his shadow before an enthusiastic crowd of 10-18,000. The time was 7:31 AM. It was Phil's 119th prediction.
1944Saw Shadow at 9:10 AM.  2006Phil saw his shadow while wearing his Steeler "Terrible Towel" at 7:25 AM. The temperature was a balmy 38 degrees.
1945Saw Shadow at 9 AM.  2007It was a cloudy morning with light snow flurries when Phil emerged from his burrow at about 7:26 AM. and did not see his shadow.
1946Saw Shadow at 7:52 AM.  2008At 7:28 AM it was 29 degrees. In front of one of the largest crowds ever at Gobblers' Knob, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow.
1947Saw Shadow at 7:37 AM; First newspaper photo of Groundhog Club members at Gobbler's Knob.     

Tally to Date:

Saw Shadow:96
No Shadow:14
No Record:9

Phil's Accuracy:

100%, of course!

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