IFOCE tribute to Krazy Kevin
The home page of IFOCE.com has a tribute to “Krazy” Kevin Lipsitz’s decade long competitive eating career.
San Jose Mercury catches up with Bozo Miller
The San Jose Mercury has a new article about 99 year old Bozo Miller, listed by Guinness at the “world’s greatest trencherman” when that book had an eating records section.
No one could eat or drink like Bozo, and he took on all comers. He once ate 27 two-pound chickens in a row. He drank two quarts of liquor in an hour, chug-a-lugging each quart separately. Both feats landed him in Guinness.
Such drinking could kill a man. But everyone Bozo knew at his age, even those who observed sensible diets and drank moderately, is dead.
Bozo – no one calls him Eddie or Miller – is the last of Oakland’s true characters. When he managed to push back from the table, he was a bookie, a gambler, a fight manager and a restaurateur.
1887 quail eating challenges
Happy Thanksgiving. A day devoted to massive poultry consumption is an appropriate time to bring up the Chicago quail eating challenges of 1887. In the Chicago Tribune, Miss Wesley claimed that she could eat two quails a day for 30 days. Her challenge was a response to J.C Mann winning $1,000 after he bet with George R. Clark who claimed that no man could eat a quail a day for 30 days. J. C. Mann disproved Clark’s claim. No news of Ms. Wesley’s success or failure appears in subsequent editions of the Chicago Tribune.
New York Times on a 1906 spaghetti contest
The New York Times archives has a preview from 1906 of a spaghetti contest to be held in Little Italy which is almost certainly a parody. The eaters were to eat lengths of spaghetti ranging from 10 miles to 100 yards.
The only instance of a spaghetti contest in which the pasta was measured by length I am aware of was Donna Maiello’s 1982 record of 100 yards of spaghetti in 27.75 seconds.
First interstate competitive eater?
Don “Moses” Lerman makes the following claims in his blog:
As I reflect upon my eating carear as I said on the about Don Lerman page on my site, I invented the water technique , the first eater to use their own nick name in a contest, before that either the promoter the press or the sponser gave an eater a nickname , I change that forever!
The first eater to go out of state for a contest,the first champion to crossover to another food category, the first non Philly resident to compete in the Wing Bowl( achieving 3rd &2ndplace).
This page about Oakland, California resident Eddie “Bozo” Miller says he ate 63 apple pies at the 1961 Montana State Fair and 30 pounds of meat loaf at an undated contest in Idaho. There are probably earlier instances of eaters traveling out of state, but I have not been able to locate them.
The writer for the trivia column on creators.com was contacted by the daughter of Bozo Miller in June, who reported he was still alive despite an age of almost 100.
Curtis Sliwa to lose time slot to Don Imus
NYTimes.com reports that Don Imus will take over the morning show on WABC currently hosted by Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby. The radio station says it hopes to find an alternate place in its schedule for Curtis Sliwa, a four time Carnegie Deli pickle eating champion in the 1990s.
Competitive eating articles from NY Times archive
Several articles about competive eating from the New York Times archive which previously required payment are now available for free (in reverse chronological order)
preview of 2005 NJ pizza contest, mentions Pat Philbin
2005 Review of Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating
Short article about Kate Stelnick (she claims to have drunk 14 glasses of water while eating the 96er)
Long 2003 profile of Carson “Collard Green” Hughes
Preview of 2003 Wing Bowl, focuses on Bill “El Wingador” Simmons and “Belly” Donna Villec
Report on the 2002 pelmeni contest
2002 preview of Nathan’s finals, mainly about the Sheas
2002 article about Don Lerman, Badlands Booker & Cookie Jarvis, calls George Shea a “competitive eater since 1988”
2001 profile of Kevin Lipsitz
Article on quick start controversy at 1999 Nathan’s finals
Report on 1999 Nathan’s finals
preview of 1999 Ben’s Deli’s matzoh ball contest
1998 article about Mike DeVito, also mentions start of the IFOCE, originally the International Federation of Hot Dog Eating
1997 interview with Ed Krachie
Report on December 1996 duel between Ed Krachie and Nakajima
1996 Nathan’s final report
1995 Nathan’s finals results
Report on 1995 Nathan’s New Jersey qualifier, contest was 10 minutes long
article on 1994 Nathan’s finals, mentions Curtis Sliwa’s participation
Report on 1990 Nathan’s, says Jay Green & Mike DeVito tied for first place
Preview of 1987 Nathan’s, registrations were still being accepted by phone on July 3
Report on 1984 women’s only pancake contest
1967 Nathan’s winner ate 127 hot dogs
The only instance of a pre-1972 Nathan’s hot dog eating contest I could find in the Google news archive was a June 30, 1967 competition held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the hot dog:
Champ Eats 127 Hot Dogs
NEW YORK was the 100th anniversary of the hot dog, and Walter Paul, a 400- pound truckdriver, sat down and ate 127 of them with relish, catsup and mustard. Paul, 32, was rewarded for his Ruthian took him one hour (?) a trophy proclaiming him the world’s champion hot dog eater.’ ,The “dog-in” was held at Nathan’s Famous, the Coney Island frankfurter palace. The occasion was to honor Charles Feltman, who slipped a sausage into a roll in 1867 and named the creation “frankfurter” after his birthplace in Frankfurt, Germany.
Kid Cary at OJ’s bail hearing
The Las Vegas Sun reports on the spectators outside the Clark County Regional Justice Center during OJ Simpson’s bail hearing last month.
Another off-Strip show, the Golden Nugget’s “Defending the Caveman,” sent over a guy in a polyester pelt with a plastic club . A guy in black, maybe with the show, maybe not, gave away doughnuts. “That’s the new Scorsese, right there!” he shouted at a cameraman. He added, in a two-minute span, “Four dead in Ohio! Four dead in Ohio!” and “Free Krispy Kremes!”
Local hot dog eating champ “Kid” Cary DeGrosa held a camera to his face and bellowed like a mastodon across a primeval swamp.
“Wait a minute, wait minute, I’ve got Elvis and the caveman!” he said. “Isn’t this great? It’s not as big as in Los Angeles, but we’re not L.A.”
Peter Dowdeswell to retire
NorthhamptonChron.com reports that British eater Peter Dowdeswell will honor his late wife’s request and retire from competitive eating. His final event will take place later today at the Sunnyside pub in Kingsthorpe. Dowdeswell had many eating records when Guinness discontinued their eating records section.
update In happier news about the spouse of a British competitive eater, Lisa reports that an article about living with her competitive eating husband appeared in a recent issue of “Pick Me Up” magazine. Lisa is the wife of Rob Burns, who was the British representative in the 2005 Nathan’s finals.
1988 Guinness eating records
Scans of the eating records section from the 1988 Guinness Book of World Records are available after the jump. Eating records were dropped by Guinness around 1990.
Kid Cary in “Diets from Hell”
“Kid” Cary DeGrosa has uploaded a segment of him eating 6 hot dogs in two minutes from a program that aired on the TLC cable channel called “Diets from Hell” to youtube. There is some footage of pre-Kobayashi Nathan’s contests.
Tualatin crawfish contest article
TigardTimes.com has an article about the Tualatin crawfish contest, which requires that competitors eat the meat in the claws:
But in Tualatin, the claws are an intricate piece of the flavored tradition of the Crawfish Eating Contest. Cotton Scheckla, 80, stills holds the Tualatin crawfish-eating record from 1970 when he ate 170 crawdads – tails and claws – in 15 minutes.
Scheckla, now a retired longshoreman and Newberg resident, admits using his teeth to crack open the claws wasn’t a smart idea. After spending three weeks picking shells out of his bleeding gums, Scheckla had to get his teeth capped. His dentist and family weren’t happy with his style of eating, but still it was the best technique Scheckla had for the fast-paced competition.
Bloomberg.com on Coney Island redevelopment
Bloomberg.com has an article about redevelopment plans for Coney Island which quotes Mike DeVito:
Michael Devito, a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. vice president, has a special attachment to Coney Island. He’s a three-time winner of the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot-dog-eating contest and loves the all-beef franks.
“The big draw has to be the original Nathan’s,” said Devito, 45, whose last victory was in 1994, when he downed 20 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes. “If I’m anywhere near that area, I always shoot over.”
Eating contest episode from 1950s sitcom
A competitive eating themed episode from the 1950s sitcom “The Phil Silvers Show” (Sergeant Bilko) can be viewed in its entirety on youtube where a plot summary can be found:
In an eating contest between the platoons Bilko puts his money on a new member of the platoon nicknamed ‘The Stomach’ only to find that he can only eat when he is depressed
Kid Cary videos on youtube
“Kid” Cary Degrosa, who ruled Las Vegas eating before the LeFevres emerged, has uploaded a clip of him competing against Grub Smith in a hot dog eating contest from a British travel program. There is also footage of Kid Cary dancing to “The Hot Dog Man” at a Nathan’s contest.
Kid Cary has talked about making a DVD of his competitive eating exploits. If that project will not materialize, hopefully he will put all his clips on youtube.
Cleveland.com on the birth of televised competitive eating
Cleveland.com has a long article about competitive eating which focuses on the locally televised contests from the early 1970s.
Before LeBron James, Cleveland sports was the domain of another king — Mariano “Mushmouth” Pachetti. In the 1970s, he could devour an entire pie in 30 seconds. He was unstoppable, a royal glutton.
That is, until Mushmouth met his match: Chris, the Fairview Fireball. In 1972, the saucy German shepherd jawed its title away in a pizza duel.
“Her slices fell to the floor,” says “Big Chuck” Schodowski, who presided over the event. “But she reached down and ate them; she really wanted to win.”
A cleveland.com columnist also tried his hand at competitive eating
Gothamist interviews Curtis Sliwa
Gothamist has an interview with Guardian Angels founder and talk radio host Curtis Sliwa. In addition to the opening of a Guardian Angels chapter in Cape Town, South Africa, stickball, and his hatred of Manhattan, Sliwa also discusses his competitive eating history:
Let’s switch focus from the Guardian Angels to competitive eating. How did you become a world champion pickle eater and do you have any plans to return to the world of competitive eating?
I established the world record one year at one and three quarter pounds. The contest took place on the lower East Side of Manhattan. I had done it because I was recovering from gunshot wounds that were inflicted on me by John Gotti Jr’s goons in the summer of 1992. One of the remedies was liquid penicillin- chicken soup. It came from the second avenue deli. The owner, Abe Lebewohl, would send it over each day and even inquire about my health. Unfortunately, he was the victim of violent crime. He was held up at gunpoint, shot, and killed. He had asked me to participate in this contest to represent the lower east side. I could barely consume solid food at that time and I had agreed. That was the first big solid food I’d had, which might be how I was able to set the world record, but I’d also won the contest three times after.
Unfortunately, I’ve suffered gastronomical depression. My head has revolted against my stomach. The stomach wants to continue but the mind has reached a wall. In my last pickle competition, I was so weak that I didn’t even place into the show. I placed third one year at the 4th of July Dirty Water Hot Dog Eating Contest at Nathans, with 16 hot dogs in 12 minutes. That was back in the late 90’s. Now that wouldn’t even qualify you to get into the contest. So, the world of competitive eating has passed this older timer by.
Time Magazine on the 1933 Ortonville corn contest
The archives for Time Magazine have an article with a paragraph about the 1933 corn eating contest held in Ortonville, Minnesota, where an AICE contest will take place this year:
At the Ortonville, Minn, harvest festival last year Mrs. L. W. Lindstrom munched hard for the women’s corn-eating championship, finished second to Pauline Lewis who set a women’s record of 25 ears. Ed (“Korn King”) Kottwitz won the men’s championship with a world’s record of 37 ears. Last week at the festival, with two dozen waitresses rushing supplies from steaming boilers chocked with Golden Bantam corn, Mrs. Lindstrom, 71 and every tooth her own, beat Pauline Lewis, 22, by one ear with a new women’s record of 45 ears. Ed Kottwitz kept his championship by chomping down 50 ears.
Mrs. Lindstrom’s performance is the best performance by an eater over the age of 70 I am aware of.
It is surprising that an eating contest would be held during the trough of the Great Depression.
NY Times: Nathan’s Wall of Fame has incorrect ’86 champ
Don “Moses” Lerman’s most recent blog entry has a picture of himself at the unveiling of the Nathan’s Wall of Fame. That monument, which lists Don Wolfman as the 1986 winner with 12 hot dogs, needs correction according to this New York Times article:
In a weekend of indulgence, 27-year-old Mark Heller of Manhattan -depending on one’s perspective -might rightfully lay claim to the prize for the most indulgent act.
Mr. Heller, a television commercial producer and director, was crowned the Nathan’s Famous 1986 hot dog-eating champion after consuming 15 1/2 all-beef hot dogs, 6 1/2 inches long – and buns, some with mustard – in 10 minutes.
Mark Heller was inspired by Birgit Felden’s victory in the 1984 contest.
After victory, Mr. Heller searched for bicarbonate of soda and said that the festive atmosphere of Liberty Weekend and seeing a ”German girl who had never eaten a hot dog” win the contest two years ago had prompted him to participate.
15.5 hot dogs would be the best known Nathan’s result from the 1980s. It would be interesting to learn what year the contest changed from 10 to 12 minutes.
Wrestler / Football player / Competitive eater Ernie Ladd dies at 68
Shadow Fire Promotions reports that former WWF star “Big Cat” Ernie Ladd died of cancer at the age of 68. Before becoming a professional wrestler, Ladd was a defensive lineman with the San Diego Chargers, Houston Oilers and Kansas City Chiefs. During his football career, Ladd was 6’9″ and 315 pounds, with a 52-inch chest, 39-inch waist, 20-inch biceps, 19-inch neck, 20-inch calves, and size 18D shoes. Ladd also had achievements in areas besides wrestling and football:
In an interesting piece of trivia picked up from the Museum of the Gulf Coast’s website (http://www.museumofthegulfcoast.org/Content/Personalities/Sports_Legends/Ernie_Ladd)
in Port Arthur, TX (Ladd being a Texas native), it was stated that Ladd’s appetite equalled his size and at a charity pancake eating contest in 1965, he ate 124 pancakes topped with 6 containers of syrup. How that stacks up against modern “professional competitive eaters” isn’t known. Ladd lost the aforementioned contest, but he was competing alone against two-man teams, which is pretty impressive in and of itself. Ladd claimed he started late and was “only four pancakes behind at the end.”
Ladd is not the only pro wrestler with an impressive eating feat in the 1960’s. The Big Texan’s 72 ounce steak page reports that “Klondike” Bill Soloweyko ate two 72 ounce steaks in an hour in that decade.
1907 South Jersey eating contest
Philly.com has an article mentioning an eating contest held in Burlington, New Jersey a century ago:
A friend, doing research for a book, was browsing through microfilm in the Lehigh University library last week when he found an item headlined “Man Eats 33 Sandwiches.”
The story was from the South Bethlehem Globe of Dec. 9, 1907, and was datelined Burlington, N.J.
Arthur Wilcox (it said) of Burlington ate 33 ham sandwiches, four dozen small pickles, and two pounds of cheese during an eating match in which he was pitted against a man from Delanco. He washed the grub down with 12 cups of coffee.
Famous 1907 bean eater
Happy New Year. Don “Moses” Lerman and Dale Boone are apparently not the first individuals in American history to win fame for bean eating. The Manchester (NH) Union Leader has a column looking back on 1907 articles. One of the articles has the headline “Does He Contemplate Self Destruction?” and is described:
How else would you draw readers into the Oct. 5, 1907 front-page story of “Mark Hoffman, a rural letter carrier and famous bean-eater who has made a wager that he can eat — at one meal — nine quarts of beans, a one-pint jar of piccalilli, thirty-six rolls, one warm mince-meat pie, six plates of ice cream and drink four cups of black coffee.”
No information is provided if the bet was successful.
Trivia answer: Eaters’ inspiration
Here is Brian Seiken’s answer to who inspired the following eaters: Charles Hardy, Cookie Jarvis, Don “Moses” Lerman and Brian Seiken:
Hardy’s union boss insisted he compete in a Nathans hot dog civil service contest for publicity in 1998 and he refused until his wife told him to go out and have some fun.
Jarvis father in law bet that jarvis couldnt win a matzah ball contest because he wasnt jewish. Jarvis entered a Bens matzah ball qualifier in 2001 . rest is history
Lermans nephew Ryan who used to accompany him to the contests for support saw a sign for the same Ben’s contest a year earlier and thought his uncle could take the title which he did.
My sister saw a sign for a Nathans hot dog contest in 1997 in oceanside ny. I thought it would be fun. Never knew it would get me to this level 9 yrs later
“Glutton Bowl” clip on youtube
Footage from the “Glutton Bowl”, which originally aired on Fox in 2002, has been uploaded to youtube. The contents include Kobayashi setting the record for eating cow brains in his first US prime time appearance. There is also a brief clip of Don “Moses” Lerman setting his butter eating record and Eric “Badlands” Booker setting the pre-Sonya record for hard boiled eggs.
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