IHOP Intercollegiate Pancake Eating Contest from the 60s/70s
The International House of Pancakes’ offer of free pancakes in honor of National Pancake Day has received a lot of publicity today. In the 1960s and early 70s, the chain garnered attention by holding the Intercollegiate Pancake Eating Contest on Shrove Tuesday. Mixed-gender pairs from area colleges would eat silver dollar sized pancakes for 30 minutes and the totals would then be compared to determine a national champion, who would be awarded an overseas trip.
The 1964 Boston University team of John Henry and Janet Lehrer ate 367 pancakes (Henry 248, Lehrer 119), the highest total I could find. Jet Magazine did an article on the mixed-race pair. John Henry was a lineman on the Boston U football team and would be the last player drafted in the 1965 AFL draft. (I could not find any information about his pro football career, if any.)
Other IHOP collegiate pancake eating contest reports:
- 1963, 270 pancakes, San Berardino Valley College
- 1965, 150 pancakes, Harvard/Radcliffe (written by Michael Barone, who would gain fame as a political analyst)
- 1965, 238 pancakes, Miami-Dade Jr. College
- 1966, 306 pancakes (2nd nationally), U of Miami
- 1967, 130 pancakes, Elizabeth, NJ (school not listed, national champs in Chicago ate 302)
- 1970, 189 pancakes, Tufts
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I'm not a seiken fan said
February 28, 2012 @ 2:15 pm
thanks O.J. I find these tidbits interesting and entertaining.I havent had many pancakes since a radio station rented a bus for a contest. 25 men over 300 lbs rode to every IHOP in town ( about 15 ) on shrove Tue. The one who gained the most weight by eating free pancakes that day won , I think I gained 14 pounds. Keep up the good work, I like what you do.