Punxsutawney Phil

Phil’s Past Predictions (Since 1887)

Not really a famous person but certainly a famous groundhog. Punxsutawney Phil is the official groundhog who predicts whether winter is over on Groundhog Day, February 2nd.

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.”

Phil’s Accuracy:
100%, of course!

1887 First Official trek to Gobbler’s Knob.
Saw Shadow.
1888 Saw Shadow.
1889 No Record.
1890 No Shadow.
1891 No Record.
1892 No Record.
1893 No Record.
1894 No Record.
1895 No Record.
1896 No Record.
1897 No Record.
1898 Saw Shadow.
1899 No Record.
1900 Saw Shadow.
1901 Saw Shadow.
1902 Probably No Shadow.
1903 Saw Shadow.
1904 Saw Shadow.
1905 Saw Shadow.
1906 Saw Shadow.
1907 Saw Shadow.
1908 Saw Shadow;
First front page coverage.
1909 Saw Shadow.
1910 Saw Shadow.
1911 Saw Shadow;
“55 couples at Groundhog Day Dance.”
1912 Saw Shadow.
1913 Saw Shadow at 8:08 AM;
first newspaper photo of Groundhog by John Frampton.
A new dance “The Groundhog Roll” was demonstrated by Joe Winslow.
1914 Saw Shadow at 9:34 AM,
Groundhog Demonstrated “The Groundhog Flop”
1915 Saw Shadow at 11:45 AM;
His name – Wiley William Woodchuck!
1916 Saw Shadow at 9:07;
First films of the event.
1917 Saw Shadow at 9:07.
1918 Saw Shadow;
Temperature 18 below zero.
1919 Saw Shadow.
1920 Saw Shadow.
1921 Saw Shadow at 7:17 AM.
1922 Saw Shadow 7:11 AM;
Groundhog Holiday Dance.
1923 Saw Shadow.
1924 Saw Shadow 7:13 AM;
First appearance of logo with groundhog with umbrella and newspaper
1925 Saw Shadow 8:13 AM;
C.J. Margiotti gave groundhog tradition to the Pittsburgh Travel Club.
1926 Saw Shadow at 9:17 AM.
1927 Saw Shadow at 8:35 AM.
1928 Saw Shadow at 10 AM;
Program with Punx’y Rotary Club was on KDKA Radio.
1929 Predicted six more weeks of winter before sunrise.
1930 Saw Shadow at 7:11.
1931 Saw Shadow at 12:27 PM.
1932 Saw Shadow at 9:11 AM.
1933 Saw Shadow.
1934 No Shadow.
1935 Saw Shadow at 9:11 AM.
1936 Saw Shadow at 10:27 AM.
1937 Saw Shadow at 9:09 AM;
Unfortunate meeting with a skunk.
1938 Saw Shadow at 9 AM;
Blackest shadow in history.
1939 Saw Shadow at 9:10 AM.
1940 Saw Shadow at 9 AM;
Pictured with first Groundhog Day Queen, Miss Margaret Hunam.
1941 Saw Shadow at 4:25 PM;
Six Groundhog Girls.
1942 Partial Shadow at 7:40 AM;
“War clouds have blacked out parts of the shadow.”
(The Spirit, Feb. 2, 1942).
1943 Groundhog didn’t make an appearance;
need to rely on Quarryville’s prediction.
1944 Saw Shadow at 9:10 AM.
1945 Saw Shadow at 9 AM.
1946 Saw Shadow at 7:52 AM.
1947 Saw Shadow at 7:37 AM;
First newspaper photo of Groundhog Club members at Gobbler’s Knob.
1948 Saw Shadow at 8:46 AM;
Dr. Frank Lorenzo was interviewed on KDKA Radio’s “Brunch With Bill” program.
1949 Saw Shadow at 7:32 AM.
1950 No Shadow;
Colleen Townsend, actress, was in town to promote the film, When Willie Comes Marching Home.
1951 Saw Shadow at 8:41 AM
1952 Saw 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.
1953 Saw Shadow at 7:38 AM;
First year with Sam Light as Groundhog Club president;
First Man-of-the-Year Award goes to Ben Levy.
1954 Saw Shadow at 8:03 AM;
The groundhog was turned completely white from worry.
1955 Saw Shadow at 8:51 AM;
4-inch snowfall on Groundhog Day; Coverage on three TV stations.
1956 Saw Shadow 8:33 AM.
1957 Saw Shadow 7:47 AM.
1958 Saw 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.
1959 Saw Shadow at 8:23 AM;
Announces that he has returned from a successful trip to the moon.
1960 Saw Shadow at 7:33 AM;
forecasts extremely bad weather;
appearance on the Today show.
1961 Saw Shadow at 7:41 AM;
25 below zero.
1962 Saw Shadow at 7:29 AM;
Just returned from second trip to the moon.
1963 Saw Shadow at 7:41 AM;
Unusually dark shadow.
1964 Saw Shadow.
1965 Saw Shadow shortly before 8 AM.
1966 Saw Shadow at 7:21 AM.
1967 Saw Shadow 7:25 AM.
1968 Saw Shadow 7:29 AM.
1969 Saw Shadow 7:29 AM.
1970 No Shadow.
1971 Saw Shadow at 7:29 AM;
14 below zero.
1972 Saw Shadow 7:30 AM.
1973 Saw Shadow 7:29 AM.
1974 Saw Shadow 8:28 AM.
1975 No Shadow; Declared at 7:31 AM.
1976 Saw Shadow at 7:29 AM.
1977 Saw Shadow at 7:27;
In midst of energy crisis.
1978 Saw Shadow at 7:28 AM.
1979 Saw Shadow at 7:28 AM.
1980 Saw Shadow at 7:29 AM.
1981 Saw Shadow at 7:27 AM.
1982 Saw Shadow 7:26 AM;
After coldest January in more than a century.
1983 No Shadow;
Peered over shadow at 7:29 AM, but saw no shadow;
predicted an early spring after a mild winter.
1984 Saw Shadow shortly after 7 AM.
1985 Saw Shadow at 7:28 AM.
1986 No Shadow!
Visited President Reagan at the White House in March.
1987 Saw Shadow 7:29 AM. Celebrated 100th Anniversary!
1988 No Shadow.
1989 Saw Shadow.
1990 No Shadow.
1991 Saw Shadow.
1992 Saw Shadow.
Bill Murray visited town to research the festivities for new film.
1993 Saw Shadow.
Groundhog Day, the movie with Bill Murray, was released in time for Phil’s prediction.
1994 Saw Shadow 7:28 AM.
1995 No Shadow.
Guested on the Oprah Winfrey TV Show and made new fans.
1996 Saw Shadow 7:21 AM.
So cold he dug deep to make his prediction. Phil gets his first web site.
1997 No Shadow.
1998 Saw Shadow 7:20 AM
Phil’s prediction broadcast live to the world on the Internet.
1999 No Shadow.
2000 Saw Shadow at 7:28 AM. Dawn of a “new Phillennium!”
2001 Saw Shadow at 7:25 AM. Phil’s forecast was shown live on the JumboTron in Times Square, New York City!
2002 Saw Shadow. The date: 02/02/02!
2003 Saw Shadow. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell attended the ceremonies, making him the first sitting governor ever to do so.
2004 Saw Shadow. Phil said he is thankful for the comfort of his burrow, which is more tidy than Saddam Hussein’s “spider hole.”
2005 Saw Shadow.
2006 Saw Shadow while wearing a Terrible Towel in honor of the Steelers’ upcoming visit to the Super Bowl.

Tally to Date:
Saw Shadow: 96
No Shadow: 14
No Record: 9

Phil’s Accuracy:
100%, of course!