Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate in today's NYC mayoral election, competed in several Nathan's Famous finals in the 1990s, finishing 3rd in 1994. He appeared in "Footlong", a 2002 documentary about the hot dog using the 1998 Nathan's circuit as its framework which can be viewed on youtube. In interview starting around the 8:15 mark, he claims that defending champion Hirofumi Nakajima has been surgically altered with digestive enzymes.
Interview with Anne Nelson, sister of Caitlin Nelson
Daily Mail has an article about Anne Nelson, whose father, Port Authority Police Officer James Nelson, died in the World Trace Center wreckage. Another shocking fatality would strike the family 16 years later.
Tragedy stalked Anne again in 2017 when her sister Caitlin (then a 20 year old college student) died in a freak accident when she choked in a charity pancake eating contest.
‘I think that loss is what really made me process my father’s death a little more. Even though I had gone to therapy before, the enormity of it all didn’t really hit me until that happened.’
Anne Nelson’s story is proof that people can live through not one but multiple traumas and still recover. Now 31, Anne tries to honor her sister and dad in everything she does.
She currently works as a special needs teacher at an elementary school, inspired by Caitlin’s studies in social work and her father’s life-long emphasis on education. ‘I take a little bit of both of them in what I’m doing and I try to carry them with me through that.’
Nathan’s Hot Dog qualifiers, restricted to NYC civil servants, were held on top of the original World Trade Center from 1998 to 2000. “Hungry” Charles Hardy won all 3 contests. Very little information about the competitions remains on the internet. Here is a screen capture from the 2002 documentary “Footlong”
The New York Times has a long article about Nathan's Famous original Coney Island location.
Melody Andorfer, who ate 12 hot dogs in 5 minutes to win the Nathan's Famous eating contest held on Labor Day weekend in 1972, was honored at yesterday's weigh-in ceremony.
Guardian Angels founder has been declared the winner of the Republican primary for mayor of New York City. He competed in several Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contests in the 1990s, finishing 3rd in 1994.
The New York Daily News has a column about the career of 96 year old public relations maven Mortimer Matz, who co-founded the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest with Max Rosey in 1972.
The Staten Island Republican Party has endorsed Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa for Mayor of New York City. He competed in several Nathan's Famous finals in the 1990s, finishing 3rd in 1994 with a total of 20.5 hot dogs. In June, Sliwa received coverage after being injured while trying to defend a Manhattan Foot Locker from looters.
It has now been over a month since the hot dog eating contest Wall of Fame has been removed from Nathan's Famous original Coney Island location. Neither Nathan's nor Major League Eating have made any announcement about the restoration of the sign.
Nathan’s Wall of Fame completely removed
Dutchmazz posted a picture of Nathan’s Famous Coney Island location with the wall of fame completely removed. He claims that it is out for repair and will return.
Nathan’s Famous Wall of Fame removed
Magical Theme Parks uploaded a video recorded today of the removal of the hot dog eating contest Wall of Fame at Nathan’s Famous Coney Island location. update Nov 23 The left side of the wall has been removed.
Flasback May 1997: Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Theresa LePore serves as a judge for a Nathan's qualifier held in Boca Raton, FL. She would receive national publicity three years later due to the "butterfly ballot" controversy following the 2000 Florida presidential election.
Spectrum Local News has an article about Melody Andorfer, winner of the 1972 Nathan's Famous Labor Day contest with a total of 12 hot dogs in 5 minutes. Major League Eating says they will acknowledge her at the 2021 finals.
ConeyIslandHistory.com has an article containing an audio interview with Melody Andorfer, winner of the 1972 Labor Day Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest. She is officially requesting a champions belt from Major League Eating.
The New York Daily News reports that Guardian Angels founder suffered injuries after defending a Manhattan Foot Locker from looters Tuesday. He competed in several Nathan's finals in the 1990s, finishing 3rd in 1994.
The New York Times has an article about Feltman's Hot Dogs which also covers the history of Coney Island frankfurters. The pandemic has reportedly resulted in a surge for hot dog purchases, with sales for Nathan's Famous increasing by over 50%.
Legendary comedian / director Carl Reiner requested pictures of the original Nathan's Famous location on his twitter feed.
Eater.com has a youtube video titled "How the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest Became an ESPN Icon". The video contains a demonstration contest won by Badlands Booker in which George Shea catches Crazy Legs Conti cheating. (Eater.com blog entry)
TheAthletic.com has an article (mostly behind a paywall) about Birgit Felden's victory in the 1984 Nathan's finals, the only time a female has had the highest overall total in a July 4 contest. She is now a professor of business in Berlin.
A 1991 episode of the cable public access show Beyond Vaudville has an interview with Frank "Large" Dellarosa, the Nathan's champion of 1991 and 1992, (starts at 8:45). He says he broke a the overall contest record from 1959, which he calls the first year of the contest.
Ed Krachie, the 1995 & 1996 Nathan's hot dog eating champion, has a twitter at @edkrachie.
Today is the 50th anniversary of a ceremony held at Nathan's Coney Island location on June 30, 1967 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the invention of the hot dog. At that event, Walter Paul reportedly ate 127 hot dogs. (A picture of an unnamed model at the centennial)
Gersh Kuntzman, called "the original competitive-eating beat reporter" for his coverage of Nathan's hot dog contest around the turn of the century, wrote a column for the NY Daily News that he described as "a case for political assassinations ... when the victim works for Putin or Hitler".
DNAInfo reports that a federal grand jury will not bring charges against former Brooklyn District Attorney Joe Hynes for using money from civil forfeiture to pay Mortimer Matz for public relations services after determining that Matz' work was non-political and the expenditure was legal. In the early 1970s, Mortimer Matz founded Nathan's hot dog eating contest with Max Rosey. In May, the that indictments were looming in the case.
Donald Trump & competitive eating chronology
A timeline listing the intersection of the worlds of competitive eating and the 2016 Republican presidential candidate follows:
- 1966 Fred Trump, father of Donald, has the Steeplechase demolished. The Coney Island amusement park had earlier rejected a purchase offer from the Handwerker family, founders of Nathan’s Famous.
- 2005 Sports Illustrated has a blurb
about filmmaker Michael Tollin’s plans for a fictional movie based on
Bill “El Wingador” Simmon that did not come to fruition. Tollin would
later make a documentary about the USFL spring football league in which Donald Trump was cast as the villain. - 2005-2007 The Trump Marina in Atlantic City holds a wing eating contest for females only during Super Bowl weekend.
2005 Feb 3 Wing Fling 1 Trump Marina Atlantic City, NJ 2006 Feb 4 Wing Fling 2 Trump Marina Atlantic City, NJ 2007 Feb 3 Wing Fling 3 Trump Marina Atlantic City, NJ 2007 contest video
- 2009-2012 The Trump Plaza Beach Bar in Atlantic City, NJ hosts a Nathan’s qualifier. The winners of those contests:
2009 May 23 1st 30.5 10 min “The Lovely” Juliet Lee Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest qualifier Atlantic City, NJ 2010 May 29 1st 40 10 min Bob “The Notorious B.O.B.” Shoudt Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest qualifier Atlantic City, NJ 2011 May 28 1st 27 10 min Pat “from Moonachie” Philbin Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest qualifier – men Atlantic City, NJ 2011 May 28 1st 34 10 min Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest qualifier – women Atlantic City, NJ 2012 May 19 1st 45 10 min Tim “Eater X” Janus Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest Qualifier – men Atlantic City, NJ 2012 May 19 1st 18.5 10 min Larell Marie “The Real Deal” Mele Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest Qualifier – women Atlantic City, NJ - 2013 The Trump Plaza was sold to Meruelo Group for $20 million. No Nathan’s qualifiers would take place at that site after the sale.
- Dec 2015 Everybody Loves Raymond’s in San Antonio starts a “Shut Your Mouth Trump” spicy burger challenge in response to negative feelings about the candidate by the restaurant’s clientele.
- Feb 2016 Donald Trump visits Chez Vachon in Machester, NH for a campaign stop. A picture of him in front of the “Wall of Fame” for the restaurant’s poutine challenge would receive a lot of publicity. Hillary and Bill Clinton would also visit the location.
- May 2016 Burger Urge in Queensland, Australia holds a “Trump Burger” contest awarding a trip to Trump Tower in New York City won by Col “The Conqueror” MacLaurin.
- Aug 2016 Howard Lorber, chairman of Nathan’s Famous, is announced as a member of Donald Trump’s economic policy team. Lorber received a $25 million payment in 2015 after a special dividend was issued to Nathan’s stockholders.
Brooklyn Eagle reports that the Corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island were named Nathan and Ida Handwerker Way on September 24 in honor of the founder of Nathan's Famous and his wife.
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