The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is an annual American competitive-eating competition.
It is held each July 4 at Nathan's Famous Corporation's original, and best-known restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The event is regarded[by whom?] as the world's most famous hot dog eating contest and a colorful tradition of Independence Day in the United States. In 2010, over 40,000 spectators attended the event, and an additional 1.677 million viewers watched it live on ESPN television.
The ninety-sixth annual contest was held on July 4, 2011. Despite an initially close contest, four-time-defending champion American Joey Chestnut once again defended his title by consuming 62 hot dogs and buns (HDBs) in ten minutes. The contest was televised live on ESPN,[1] which has held the broadcast rights for this event since 2004.[2]
Contents
• 1 History and traditions
• 2 Rules
o 2.1 Qualifying contests
• 3 Prizes
• 4 Controversy
• 5 Results
• 6 Media coverage
o 6.1 Newspapers
o 6.2 Film, television and Radio
o 6.3 Other
o 6.4 Independence Day 2010 arrest
• 7 Tactics and training
• 8 Recent contest results
• 9 See also
• 10 References
• 11 Sources
• 12 External links
History and traditions
According to legend, on July 4, 1916, four immigrants had a hot dog eating contest at Nathan's Famous stand on Coney Island to settle an argument about who was the most patriotic. The contest has been held at the site nearly every year since, resuming in 1972, in conjunction with Independence Day[3] In 1993, a one-time, one-on-one contest under the Brooklyn Bridge was held between Mike DeVito and Orio Ito.
There is a weigh-in with the Mayor of New York City prior to the contest. On the day of the contest, the contestants arrive in the "bus of champions".
In recent years, guitarist and songwriter Amos Wengler has performed one of the songs he had written for the contest. A person in a hot dog costume dances as Wengler plays. Some of Wengler's compositions are "Hot Dog Time!", "Hot Dogs, Hot Dogs" and "Where is the Belt?" by John Jones.
Starting in 2011, women and men will compete in separate competitions.
The winner (starting in 2011, the men's competition) is given possession of the coveted international "bejeweled" mustard-yellow belt. The belt is of "unknown age and value" according to IFOCE co-founder George Shea and rests in the country of its owner. Due to the string of Japanese wins in the first half of the 2000 decade, the belt had been on display in the Imperial Palace in Saitama, Japan, near the Nakazato Danchi campus. In 2007, Chestnut won the first of four consecutive victories in the contest which has kept the belt in the U.S. to the present day. Starting in 2011, the winner of the new women's competition is given possession of a similar pink belt.
Rules
Only adults 18 years or older who fulfill one of the following four conditions may compete:
• The defending champion
• Winners of a regional qualifying contest for that season
• Qualifying as one of two wildcards (highest two average qualifier scores without winning a single qualifer)
• Special invitation by IFOCE (see "Controversies" below)
The International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) has sanctioned the event since 1997. Today, only entrants currently under contract by the IFOCE can compete in the contest.
Rules used in the early years of the contest were different than today's. For example, in past contests minors could compete (Birgit Felden from Germany was age 17 when she won the 1984 contest.)
During the event, the field of about twenty contestants stands on a raised platform behind a 30-foot (9.1 m)-long table with drinks and Nathan's Famous hot dogs in buns. Most contestants drink water, but other kinds of drinks can and have been used. Condiments are allowed, but are usually not used. The hot dogs themselves are allowed to cool slightly after grilling to prevent possible mouth burns. In the past, whoever consumed (and kept down until the contest had ended) the most hot dogs and buns ("HDBs") in twelve minutes was declared the winner. However, starting in 2008, the contest has been only ten minutes long due to recent evidence suggesting the original contest in 1916 was this length. A designated scorekeeper, known as a "Bunnette," is paired with each contestant. The Bunnette flips a number board counting the hot dogs consumed. Partially eaten hot dogs count and the granularity of measurement is eighths of a length. Hot dogs still in the mouth at the end of the 10 minutes count only if they are swallowed. Yellow cards can be issued for "messy eating,"[1] and disqualificiation can occur for "reversal of fortune."[1]
After the winner is declared, a plate with the number of hot dogs eaten by the winner is brought out for photo opportunities.
Qualifying contests
First held nationally in 1993 and internationally in 1997, qualifying contests are used to determine contestants for the July 4th competition. A qualifier winner cannot compete in another qualifier in the same year and no contestant can compete in more than three qualifiers in the same season. Each qualifier can have at most fifteen participants (typically first come/first served). A world record that is broken in a qualifier is official, but the winner does not get to hold the belt.
Prizes
Winners receive a trophy, two cases of Nathan's Famous hot dogs, the famous Nathan's Belt (yellow for men's competition, and pink for women's competition), and in some years a nonmonetary prize donated by a sponsor. For example, in 2004 Orbitz donated a travel package to the winner.
In 2007, for the first time, cash prizes were awarded to the winners. As of 2011, the total purse of $20,000 was awarded as follows:[4]
• First Place: $10,000
• Second Place: $5,000
• Third Place: $2,500
• Fourth Place: $1,500
• Fifth Place: $1,000
Controversy
Controversies usually revolve around supposed breaches of rules that are missed by the judges. For example, NY1 television news reporter Adam Balkin reviewed taped footage of the 1999 contest and noticed that Steve Keiner ate half of a hot dog before the contest had officially begun. The judge, who was standing directly in front of Keiner, missed it – otherwise Keiner would have been disqualified. According to the rules, the judge's word is final, so in this case Keiner took first place despite Balkin's discovery. Editors of the website speedeat.com have accused others of cheating at qualifiers where there is less scrutiny.
Another controversy occurred in 2003 when former NFL Player William "The Refrigerator" Perry competed as a celebrity contestant. Though he had won a qualifier by eating twelve hot dogs, he ate only four H.D.B.s at the contest, stopping eating completely just five minutes into the competition. On July 1, 2004, at a ceremony following a showing of Crazy Legs Conti's documentary, George Shea stated that the celebrity contestant experiment will likely not be repeated.
At the 2007 contest, the results were delayed to review whether defending champion Takeru Kobayashi had a "Roman method incident" (also known as a "reversal of fortune") in the final seconds of the competition. Such an incident results in the disqualification of the competitor under the rules of the IFOCE. The judges ruled in Kobayashi's favor; a disqualification would have given second place to Patrick Bertoletti. A similar incident occurred during Kobayashi's 2002 title defense when he consumed over fifty hot dogs[5] in a victory over Eric "Badlands" Booker.
Results
Year Winner First HDB/Min Second Third Notes Contest Duration (minutes)
2011 Joey Chestnut
62 6.2 53 45 Separate competitions are held for women and men for the first time. Chestnut dominates on his way to his fifth straight title, eating 62 hot dogs and buns. Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti finished second with 53, while Tim Janus finished with 45. Takeru Kobayashi was not in the competition for the second consecutive year, due to his decision to not sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating. Sonya Thomas won the inaugural women's event, eating 40 hot dogs and buns. 10
Sonya Thomas
40 29 29
2010 Joey Chestnut
54 5.4 45 37 Six-time former champion, Takeru Kobayashi, was present but had refused to sign a contract with Major League Eating and did not compete. After the contest, Kobayashi was involved in a scuffle with police and was led away in handcuffs. Tim "Eater X" Janus finished second. Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti finished third. 10
2009 Joey Chestnut
68 6.8 64½ 55 Chestnut beat his previous record by eating sixty-eight hot dogs & buns (H.D.B.) in ten minutes, nine more than in 2008, setting new event, U.S., and world records. He became the second person to win three consecutive titles. Kobayashi ate 64.5 H.D.B., setting a Japanese record, & Patrick Bertoletti placed third with fifty-five H.D.B. Chestnut improved his H.D.B. per minute in 2009's contest to 6.8 from the 5.9 he had in 2008. Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas broke her own female record with forty-one H.D.B. 10
2008 Joey Chestnut
59# 5.9 59 42 Event, Japanese, U.S., and world records set (fifty-nine H.D.B.). First event using new ten-minute time limit and first tie and eatoff since 1980. Chestnut and Kobayashi tie for first with fifty-nine in regulation. In overtime Chestnut is the first to finish a plate of five. Kobayashi, losing by a bite, finishes second, and Tim Janus finishes third with forty-two 10
2007 Joey Chestnut
66 5.5 63 49 Having broken the world and U.S. records with 59½ H.D.B. at a qualifier contest on June 2, 2007, Chestnut finishes first, setting new event, U.S. and world records (sixty-six H.D.B.); Sonya Thomas, #5, sets female record (thirty-nine H.D.B.). 12
2006 Takeru Kobayashi
54 4.5 52 37 Kobayashi, #1, sets event, Japanese and world records (53¾ H.D.B.); Chestnut, #2, sets U.S. record (fifty-two H.D.B.). 12
2005 Takeru Kobayashi
49 4.08 37 32 Sonya Thomas sets the female and U.S. records (thirty-seven H.D.B.) 12
2004 Takeru Kobayashi
53½ 4.45 38 32 Event, Japanese and world records set; Sonya Thomas sets the female and U.S. records (thirty-two H.D.B.) 12
2003 Takeru Kobayashi
44½ 3.7 30½ 29½ Sonya Thomas sets the female record (twenty-five H.D.B.) 12
2002 Takeru Kobayashi
50½ 4.2 26 25½ Event, Japanese and world records set.[6]
12
2001 Takeru Kobayashi
50 4.16 31 23½ Event, Japanese and world records broken. Event record doubled.[7]
12
2000 Kazutoyo Arai 25⅛ 2.09 24 22¼ Misao "Beast" Fujita, 藤田操, 24, M.; third - Takako Akasaka, 赤阪尊子, 22, F.; Takako Akasaka sets the women's record
1999[8]
Steve Keiner
20¼ 19 Before the contest Keiner ate half of a hot dog, but judges missed it. He would have been disqualified had the judges seen it.
1998 Hirofumi Nakajima 19
1997 Hirofumi Nakajima 24½ Event, Japanese and world records set; First time that intergovernmental qualifiers were used
1996 Ed Krachie 22¼ 20 Event, U.S. and world records set.[9] World record was later broken December 4, 1996 by Hirofumi Nakajima (23¼) in a hot dog eating contest in Central Park, also setting the Japanese record.[10]
1995[11]
Ed Krachie 19½ 19
1994 Mike Devito 20
1993 Mike Devito 17 First time that qualifying events were used to choose contestants
1992 Frank Dellarosa 19
1991 Frank Dellarosa 21½ Event, U.S. and world records set; 1991 event was the seventy-fifth annual contest. 12
1990 Mike Devito 16
1989 Jay Green 13
1988 Jay Green 14
1987 Don Wolfman 12 Record going into contest reported as 17
1986 Mark Heller 15½ 1.55 Despite Don Wolfman being listed falsely as the winner in various accounts, the New York Post of July 5, 1986, and The New York Times[12] of July 7, 1986, confirms Heller the winner of the ten-minute contest. According to a Nathan's spokesman, the seventy-year record going into the 1986 contest was seventeen by Walter Paul in 1978. 10
1985 Oscar Rodriguez 11¾
1984 Birgit Felden 9½ 10
1983 Luis Llamas 19½ Unconfirmed; a 1987[13] New York Times article states that the record going into the 1987 contest was seventeen.
1982 Steven Abrams 11 Independence Day was on a Sunday, and therefore held July 5; Winner ate one bite of a twelfth hot dog. Record going into contest reported as fourteen (Jim Mattner)
1981 Thomas DeBerry 11 2.2 Winner stopped eating after five minutes to attend a family barbecue.
1980 Paul Siederman
&
Joe Baldini 9+ Siederman and Baldini both ate nine hot dogs plus part of a tenth in ten minutes. Both ate 3½ hot dogs in an eat-off, and were declared co-winners 10
1978 Walter Paul 17 Event, U.S. and world records set
1974 Roberto Muriel 10 The 3 ½ minute contest was won by a twenty-two-year-old Brooklyn resident [14]
3.5
1972 Jason Schechter 14 The contest lasted for 3 ½ minutes and was won by a Brooklyn collegiate student. The prize was a certificate for forty more hot dogs.[15]
3.5
1916 James Mullen 13 Inaugural contest 12
# - Won a five-dog eat off.
Media coverage
Newspapers
News sources typically use puns in head-lines and copy referring to the contest, such as "'Tsunami' is eating contest's top dog again," "couldn't cut the mustard" (A.P.), "Nathan's King ready, with relish" (Daily News) and "To be frank, Fridge faces a real hot-dog consumer" (ESPN).
Reporter Gersh Kuntzman of the New York Post has been covering the event since the early 1990s and has been a judge at the competition since 2000. Darren Rovell, formerly of ESPN, has competed in a qualifier.[16]
Film, television and Radio
The Nathan's contest has been featured in these documentaries and televisual programs:
• "A Different Story" (July 4, 1996) - Jeannie Moos covers the contest on CNN
• "Red, White, and Yellow" (1998)
• "A Hot Dog Program: An All-American, Culinary Cruise Through Hot Dog History" (1999)
• "Gut Busters" (2002) Made for TV - Discovery Channel
• "King of the Hill", "The Fat and the Furious" episode (2002)
• "Footlong" (2002) - not the 2003 short film of the same name
• "The Tsunami - Takeru Kobayashi" (2003) Japanese
• "Crazy Legs Conti: Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating" (2004)
• "The Most Extreme", "Big Mouths" episode (2004) (Animal Planet)
• Cheap Seats, (2004)
• "True Life" (2006) MTV documentary series
• "American Dad!", "Weiner of our Discontent" Episode (2009)
The 2000 animated movie Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation, based on the Street Fighter video game series, makes a reference to this event. In a early scene, Sakura decides that she wants to go to the United States to enter a hot dog-eating contest and notch a world record, after which her friend criticizes her decision. She would later change her motivation to martial arts, after seeing a karateka named Ryu take down several thugs with his martial arts skills.
In 2003, ESPN aired the contest on a tape-delayed basis. Starting in 2004, ESPN began covering the contest live. As part of that arrangement, the contest was moved to a 12:40 p.m. start. For 2004, ESPN hired Windfall Productions (Ralph J. Mole, Exec. Producer) who used six cameras, a live New York City crew and a TV mobile unit to produce a one-hour network sports special about the contest. It was hosted by Gary Miller and Richard Shea and was carried live in Times Square on the ABC "Jumbotron". Since 2005, Paul Page has been ESPN's play-by-play announcer for the event, accompanied by color commentator Richard Shea, live at the contest location. In 2011, the women's competition was carried live on ESPN3, followed by the men's compeition on ESPN.
Television history
Year Network Play-by-play
Color commentator
Sideline reporter
Viewers
2003 ESPN
2004 ESPN
Gary Miller
Richard Shea 926,000 viewers[17]
2005 ESPN
Paul Page
Richard Shea 860,000 viewers[17]
2006 ESPN
Paul Page
Richard Shea 1.46 million viewers[17][18]
2007 ESPN
Paul Page
Richard Shea 1.632 million viewers
2008 ESPN
Paul Page
Richard Shea
2009 ESPN
Paul Page
Richard Shea 1.340 million viewers[19]
2010 ESPN
Paul Page
Richard Shea Todd Harris
1.677 million viewers[19]
2011 ESPN
Paul Page
Richard Shea Rene Herlocker
ABC Radio Network is the only radio source for live coverage of the event which started in 2004.
The Staten Island-originating rap group Wu-Tang Clan recorded a humorous tribute to Chestnut "Joey's My Dog" on its Iron Flag (2001) album.
Other
The competition draws many spectators and worldwide press coverage. In 2007, an estimated 50,000 came out to witness the event.
In June 2004 a three-story-high "Hot Dog Eating Wall of Fame" was erected at the site of the annual contest. The wall lists past records going back to 1984 and has a digital clock, which counts down the minutes until the next contest.
From 1997 to 2006, a Japanese competitor held the belt in every year but 1999. In 2000, the first, second and third places were all taken by Japanese contestants.
Independence Day 2010 arrest
Kobayashi was arrested on July 4, 2010, during the Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest when he exited the police-barricaded spectator pen and entered the stage after the eating had ended. Although he was initially welcomed by co-host George Shea, security and New York City Police Department officers quickly ushered him offstage as he resisted vehemently, hanging on to the barricades and fences before being taken into custody. Though some witnesses report that Kobayashi was attempting to congratulate Chestnut's win,[20] co-host and Major League Eating President Richard Shea, however stated that "[Kobayashi] tried to jump on stage during the awards ceremony to disrupt it."[21] He was charged with resisting arrest, trespassing and obstructing governmental administration.[22] Kobayashi was not participating due to a contract dispute as he refused to sign a contract with Major League Eating that would have barred him from participating in events not sanctioned by the League. In his website, on the contract which he didn't sign said that he cannot eat fast on TV show and competition without their permission. He thought he was refused from all the events.[23]
Tactics and training
Each contestant has his or her own eating method. Takeru Kobayashi pioneered the "Solomon Method" at his first competition in 2001. The method is to break each hot dog in half, eat the two halves at once, then eat the bun. The idea of eating the hot dogs and buns separately was first demonstrated by Kazutoyo Arai and is sometimes called "Tokyo Style" or "Japanesing". One hand is often used for dumking the buns, and the other is used for eating the hot dog.[1]
"Dunking" is the most promenent method used today. Because buns absorb water, many contestants dunk their hot dogs (or just the buns) in water and squeeze them to make them easier to swallow, and slide down the throat more efficiently.[1]
Other methods used include the "Carlene Pop," where the competitor jumps up and down while eating, to force the food down to the stomach.[1] "Buns & Roses" is a similar trick, but the eater sways from side tyo side instead.[1] "Juliet-ing" is a cheating method in which played simply throw the HDBs over their shoulders.[1]
Contestants train and prepare for the event in different ways. Some fast, others prefer liquid-only diets before the event. Takeru Kobayashi meditates, drinks water and eats cabbage, then fasts before the event. Kevin Lipsitz formerly trained by having eating races with his dogs, but animal rights advocates convinced him to stop. Several contestants, such as Ed Jarvis, aim to be "hungry, but not too hungry" and have a light breakfast the morning of the event.
The IFOCE does not sanction home training and does not endorse any training method.
Recent contest results
2009 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Top 3 finishers (10 minutes)
Friday July 4, 2009
No. Name Hot Dogs
1 Joey "Jaws" Chestnut (U.S. Record, World Record)
68
2 Takeru Kobayashi
64.5
3 Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti
55
2008 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest (10 minutes)
Friday July 4, 2008
No. Name Hot Dogs
1 (tie) Joey "Jaws" Chestnut (U.S. Record, World Record tie)
Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi (World Record tie)
59*
3 Tim “Eater X” Janus
42
4 Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti
41
5 Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas
33
6 (tie) Hall "Hoover" Hunt
"Humble" Bob Shoudt
30
8 Juliet Lee 29
9 (tie) Erik "The Red" Denmark
Juris Shibayama 28
11 Tim Brown 27
12 Eric "Badlands" Booker 25.5
13 (tie) Patrick Vandam
Rich "The Locust" LeFevre 25
15 Crazy Legs Conti
24
16 Allan Goldstein 21
17 Pat Philbin 20
18 Nathan Biller 18.5
19 Pete Davekos 18
20 Arturo Rios 16
21 Kevin Ross 14
* - Chesnut won a five dog eat off. The new record is based on the net hot dogs per minute with the new 10-minute format. Both Chestnut and Kobayashi will hold the official record jointly. 35,000 in attendance.[24]
2007 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest (12 minutes)
Wednesday July 4, 2007
No. Name Hot Dogs
1 Joey "Jaws" Chestnut (U.S. Record, World Record)
66
2 Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi (Japanese Record)
63
3 Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti
49
4 Tim “Eater X” Janus
43.5
5 Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas (Women's Record)
39
6 "Humble" Bob Shoudt
35
7 Chip Simpson 35
8 Rich LeFevre 31
9 Hall "The Hoover" Hunt
29
10 Juliet Lee 26
11 Dale Boone 25
12 Pat "from Moonachie" Philbin 24
13 Crazy Legs Conti
23.5
14 Erik "The Red" Denmark
23
15 Tim Brown 22.5
16 Arturo Rios, Jr. 21
17 Allen Goldstein 21
2006 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
Tuesday July 4, 2006
No. Name Hot Dogs
1 Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi (World Record, Japanese Record)
54
2 Joey "Jaws" Chestnut (U.S. Record)
52
3 Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas (Women's Record)
37
4 Patrick Bertoletti
34¼
5 Tim "Eater X" Janus
34
6 Chip "The Phenom" Simpson 33
7 "Humble" Bob Shoudt
30
8 Rich "The Locust" LeFevre 28
9 Eric "Badlands" Booker 24
10 Patrick "from Moonachie" Philbin 23
11 Erik "The Red" Denmark
22
12 Seaver Miller 22
13 Brian Subich 22
14 Crazy Legs Conti 21⅓
15 Allen Davis 20½
16 Robert Andersson 20
17 Hall "The Hoover" Hunt 19
18 Kamil "The Camel" Hamersky 18
19 Kenji Oguni 16
20 Jed Donahue
1
2005 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
Monday July 4, 2005
No. Name Hot Dogs
1 Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi 49
2 Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas (U.S. Record, Women's Record)
37
3 Joey "Jaws" Chestnut
32
4 Ed "Cookie" Jarvis 29
(tie) Keiji Oguni 29
6 Rich LeFevre 25½
7 Carlene LeFevre 25
8 Ron Koch 23
9 Tim Janus 22½
10 Eric Booker 22
(tie) Charles Hardy 22
12 Patrick "Pat From Moonachie" Philbin
20
13 Crazy Legs Conti 19
14 Joe LaRue 18
15 Don Lerman 15
16 Rob Burns 10
2004 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
Sunday July 4, 2004
No. Name Hot Dogs
1 Takeru Kobayashi (World Record, Japanese Record) 53.5
2 Nobuyuki Shirota 38
3 Sonya Thomas (U.S. Record, Women's Record) 32
4 Rich LeFevre 27.76
5 (tie) Ed Jarvis/Eric Booker 27
7 (tie) Ron Koch/Carlene LeFevre 22
9 (tie) Oleg Zhornitskiy / Jim Reeves 21
11 Joe LaRue 20
12 Allen Goldstein 19
13 (tie) Charles Hardy/Don Lerman/Dale Boone 18
July 4, 2003
• 1st - Takeru Kobayashi (44½)
• 2nd - Ed "Cookie" Jarvis (30½, American record)
• 3rd - Eric "Badlands" Booker (29)
• 4th - Sonya Thomas (25, women's world record)
• 20 competitors total. Included William "The Refrigerator" Perry (4 hot dogs)
• 3,000 spectators in attendance
• Report
July 4, 2001
• 1st - Takeru Kobayashi (50, world record)
• 2nd - Eric "Badlands" Booker (26)
• 3rd - Oleg Zhornitskiy (25)
• 20 competitors total
July 4, 2000
• 1st - Kazutoyo "The Rabbit" Arai (25⅛, world record)
• 2nd - Misao "Beast" Fujita, (24)
• 3rd - Takako Akasaka (22¼, women's world record)
• 4th - Steve Addicks (21)
• 5th - Charles "Hungry" Hardy (19)
• Also competed- Steve "The Terminator" Keiner, Ed "The Animal" Krachie, Dominic "Hot Dog" Vaccaro.
See also
• Index of New York-related articles
• List of competitive-eating events
• List of world records
References
This article uses bare URLs or very simple external links in its references or external links section. Such references are threatened by link rot. Please use proper citations containing each referenced work's title, author, publisher, date, and source, so that the article remains verifiable in the future. Several templates and a tool are available to facilitate formatting. (July 2011)
1. ^ a b c d e f g h 2011 Hot Dog Eating Contest (Live Television Broadcast). ESPN. 07-04-2011.
2. ^ journalgazette.net, 3RF contest could be a wiener
3. ^ "Famous Facts". Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs. Archived from the original on August 3, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080803005044/http://shop.nathansfamous.com/famousfacts. Retrieved December 11, 2006.
4. ^ Nathan's evens playing field
5. ^ ESPN.com - Page2 - Accusations hurled at hot dog contest
6. ^ Nathans | 2002 Contest Results
7. ^ Horsemen of the Esophagus
8. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (July 5, 1999). "Holiday Parades March By, But the Heat Is Just Settling In". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E7DD113DF936A35754C0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
9. ^ Man downs 22 hot dogs to win contest 07-04-1996
10. ^ "A Record Snack: 23 1/4 Hot Dogs". The New York Times. December 5, 1996. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50E14FA3D5B0C768CDDAB0994DE494D81.
11. ^ Stout, David (July 5, 1995). "New Jersey Daily Briefing; A Coup in Hot Dog Land". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE5D8123EF936A35754C0A963958260. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
12. ^ "New York Day By Day; The Champ: 15 1/2 Hot Dogs In 10 Minutes (With Buns)". The New York Times. July 7, 1986. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE6DB143DF934A35754C0A960948260. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
13. ^ Yarrow, Andrew L. (July 3, 1987). "An Explosion Of Festivities For A Fabulous Fourth Of July". The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F4071FF93D5E0C708CDDAE0894DF484D81. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
14. ^ Frank, Lucinda (May 28, 1974). "Yesterday Was for Traveling, Strolling, Eating and Relaxing". The New York Times.
15. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (July 5, 1972). "Beach Throngs Seek Relief in 95' Heat". The New York Times.
16. ^ [1] ESPN.
17. ^ a b c Sandomir, Richard (July 6, 2007). "The Hideous Masters of Gluttony: July 6, 2007". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/sports/othersports/06sandomir.html?em&ex=1183867200&en=db67d69a2a06d921&ei=5087%0A. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
18. ^ "Everything But the Game: 2007-07-08". http://everythingbutthegame.blogspot.com/2007_07_08_archive.html. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
19. ^ a b "Potpourri Friday, July 9, 2010". http://www.sportsmediawatch.net/2010/07/potpourri_09.html. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
20. ^ "Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2010: Joey Chestnut Wins for Fourth Year". Bleacher Report. 4 July 2010. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/415463-chestnut-wins-for-4th-straight-year-kobayashi-arrested. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
21. ^ "Joey 'Jaws' Chestnut Wins Nathan's July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest". Daily News. July 4, 2010. http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/07/04/2010-07-04_joey_jaws_chestnut_wins_nathans_july_fourth_hot_dog_eating_contest.html. Retrieved July 4, 2010.
22. ^ "Kobayashi Arrested After Chestnut’s Hot Dog Win". NBC Sports. July 4, 2010. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/38086913/ns/sports-othersports/. Retrieved July 4, 2010.
23. ^ official website
24. ^ For the Record 07.14.08. Sports Illustrated.
Sources
• Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Results
• Two Dozen Hot Dogs Please, and No, They're Not to Go by Anthony Ramirez
• Sports Illustrated feature on the 2006 contest
