Wing Bowl is an annual eating contest founded in 1993 by Philadelphia talk-radio hosts Al Morganti and Angelo Cataldi as a celebration of gluttony. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə Michael "Al" Morganti is a nationally recognized hockey analyst who has covered the National Hockey League and international competitions Angelo Cataldi (born March 13, 1951) is a Sports radio personality for 610 WIP (AM in Philadelphia. Derived from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow gluttony is the over-indulgence and Over-consumption of food drink or intoxicants The contest was first broadcast on WIP (AM). WIP is a Philadelphia Radio station with an all-sports format.
About 150 people attended Wing Bowl I (held in a hotel) in 1993 to see a competition between two contestants. The event pits competitive eaters in a chicken wing eating contest. Competitive eating is an event wherein participants consume large quantities of food in a short time period typically 15 minutes or less and the eater of the most food receives Buffalo wings, chicken wings, hot wings or wings are Chicken wing sections (called Wings or "flats" and drummettes The Wing Bowl is traditionally held on the Friday preceding the Super Bowl. professional American football, the Super Bowl is the Championship game of the National Football League (NFL The event, which began as a radio promotion, has grown to encompass television, the Internet, and a contest for women who are termed "the Wingettes. Wingettes are young women who dress up in Lingerie or Bikinis while escorting the Wing Bowl contestants to the stage "
It is currently held at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center, where it is still broadcast live on WIP. The Wachovia Center, formerly known as the CoreStates Center and the First Union Center, is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia Pennsylvania There are currently no television deals to broadcast the event live; however, a replay is usually shown on WPSG, Comcast SportsNet, or one of the other local stations within the following week. WPSG, channel 57 is a Philadelphia CW television station which is owned by the CBS Corporation (which owns 50 percent of the CW Network and is a sister station Comcast SportsNet (or CSN) is a group of Regional sports networks The group is primarily owned by the Comcast Cable television company The Wing Bowl now draws crowds of 20,000 or more.
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Wing Bowl was the brainchild of WIP radio host Al Morganti, who came up with the idea when it became apparent the Philadelphia Eagles were not going to make the Super Bowl anytime soon. The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is also suggested that Morganti was fed up with the Buffalo Bills going to the Super Bowl and not winning. The first Wing Bowl was held in the lobby of the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel in Center City. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is a concatenation of chains of Hotels and Resorts located mainly in the United States and Canada, but also in A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging usually on a short-term basis Center City is the " Downtown " and Central Business District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Carmen Codero walked away with the inaugural title, receiving a hibachi as his prize. The hibachi ( Japanese: 火鉢 literally "fire bowl" is a traditional Japanese heating device
Since then, media coverage has grown to the point where every one of the major Philadelphia television stations has covered the event. The ABC, CBS and Fox affiliates all aired live reports from the event during their morning news. The American Broadcasting Company ( ABC) is an American Television network. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. Features on the event have appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News as well as a host of newspapers in the surrounding counties. The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily Newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United The Philadelphia Daily News is a Tabloid newspaper that began publishing on March 31, 1925, under founding editor Lee Ellmaker The event has been featured on ESPN and the syndicated television shows Real TV and The Montel Williams Show. Real TV (commonly known as America's Best Caught on Tape) is a reality Television program that ran in syndication from September 9, The Montel Williams Show (also known as Montel) was a syndicated talk show hosted by Montel Williams. Segments on Wing Bowl have appeared on TV newscasts in cities throughout the country. Several Wing Bowl contestants, including "El Wingador," competed in Fox's "Glutton Bowl" in the spring of 2002. The Glutton Bowl was a two-hour Fox Network eating special in 2002 sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating. The 2007 Wing Bowl was carried on Comcast Cable's On Demand channel. Comcast Corporation ( is the largest Cable television company the second largest Internet service provider and (according to the company the fourth largest telephone
Former Philadelphia Mayor and current Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell attended Wing Bowls II, III, IV and VI, where he presented the winner with a "Liberty Bell" trophy. The Mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia Governors Pennsylvania was one of the original Thirteen colonies, and was admitted as a state on December 12 1787 Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell (born January 5 1944) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. The Liberty Bell, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a bell that has served as one of the most prominent symbols of the American Revolutionary Other celebrities who have appeared include retired heavyweight boxer Randall "Tex" Cobb, former 76ers President Pat Croce, former Phillies manager Larry Bowa, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, and others. Randall Craig "Tex" Cobb (born May 7, 1950) is an American Prizefighter turned actor The Philadelphia 76ers (also known as the Sixers for short are a professional Basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Pasquale "Pat" Croce (born November 2, 1954 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) is an American Entrepreneur, sports team executive and owner The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Lawrence Robert Bowa (born December 6 1945 in Sacramento California) is a former middle infielder, playing mainly as a Shortstop, The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Arlen Specter (born February 12 1930) is the senior United States Senator from Pennsylvania and a member of the Republican Party Major-league umpire Eric Gregg served as the "Commissioner" of Wing Bowl from its second year until his death from a stroke on June 5, 2006. A referee is a person who has authority to make decisions about play in many Sports Officials in various sports are known by a variety of titles including referee Eric Eugene Gregg ( May 18 1951 – June 5 2006) was an A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. On December 4, 2006, it was announced that Pat Croce will be the new commissioner. "December 4th" redirects here For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Pasquale "Pat" Croce (born November 2, 1954 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) is an American Entrepreneur, sports team executive and owner
(As per Wing Bowl Commissioner Pat Croce) Entry into Wing Bowl can be gained in two ways, the first of which is successfully performing an "eating stunt" on air during The Morning Show at the 610 WIP studios in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, with Al Morganti as judge. Pasquale "Pat" Croce (born November 2, 1954 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) is an American Entrepreneur, sports team executive and owner Bala Cynwyd is a Village in Lower Merion Township which is located in the Main Line in southeastern Pennsylvania, bordering the western Stunts have included eating 20 cups of cooked oatmeal, eating 60 ounces of creamed spinach with 60 ounces of hot sauce, and eating five Big Macs. Breakfast cereal health benefits There has been increasing interest in oatmeal in recent years due to its beneficial health effects Spinach ( Spinacia oleracea) is a Flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. Hot sauce, chili sauce, or pepper sauce refer to any spicy Sauce made from Chili peppers and other ingredients The Big Mac is a hamburger sold by the international Fast-food chain McDonald's. The stunt must be completed within a time limit negotiated between the contestant and Morganti. Morganti, known to be a tough judge, has disallowed stunts that involved what he considers "cheating", such as dipping bread into a beverage to make it easier to swallow, or breaking up a food item into constituent parts for easier chewing (such as separating hot dogs from their buns). He is also tough on contestants who suggest a stunt involving liquid consumption; The Morning Show hosts prefer eating stunts over drinking stunts. If a person offers to perform a drinking stunt, it must be compelling to the hosts, such as Wing Bowl XIV champion Joey Chestnut's offer to drink a gallon of milk. Joseph Christian "Jaws" Chestnut (born November 25, 1983) is an American Competitive eater currently ranked first in the world by the Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the Mammary glands of female Mammals (including Monotremes. The hosts deemed it not difficult enough, but, fortunately for Chestnut, former champion Bill "El Wingador" Simmons was present and declared the stunt to have a high level of difficulty, upon which the hosts accepted his offer, with a five-minute time limit to complete the challenge.
The other way to gain entry to Wing Bowl is to win a "Wing V" (a spoof on the Big 5 Philadelphia area universities) wing-off in which five contestants eat as many wings in two minutes, with the winner gaining automatic entry into the Wing Bowl. For other uses of the term "Big Five" and its variants see Big five (disambiguation. "Wing V" wing-offs conducted this year catered mainly to the college crowd, especially those attending schools in Philadelphia. All eating stunts performed for entry can be viewed as real video on http://www.philly.com. http://www.PhillySportsLine.com offers the most extensive Wing Bowl photo gallery at http://www.phillysportsline.com/photo/wingbowl/wing-bowl-15/
Wing Bowl has been subject to the same criticisms that have been levied against competitive eating in general, specifically that it promotes unhealthy and potentially dangerous activity. The criticisms are particularly acute for Wing Bowl for two reasons. The first is one of place: critics question the appropriateness of staging such an event in Philadelphia, statistically one of the fattest cities in the USA. The second issue is one of scale: the success of Wing Bowl has put a number of politicians and public figures in the awkward position of having to support an activity that from a policy perspective they would see as reprehensible (for example, many of the politicos who lend populist words of encouragement for Wing Bowl are also associated with campaigns to promote general fitness or the quality of school lunches).
In 2002, Philadelphia native Bill "El Wingador" Simmons became the first competitor to win the Bowl three times; Kevin "Heavy Keavy" O'Donnell had won Wing Bowl II and Wing Bowl III in `94 and `95. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar.
Bill Simmons became the first man to win the Bowl four times, and the first to win it three times in a row (again beating O'Donnell's previous `94-`95 record).
In 2004, the Wing Bowl was sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The International Federation of Competitive Eating Inc ( IFOCE) organizes supervises and regulates Eating contests across the globe acting as a central resource Angelo Cataldi, in an effort to boost the level of competition, brought in professional eaters from outside Philadelphia, including 99-pound Korean-American Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas from Virginia and Long Island realtor Ed "Cookie" Jarvis. Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas (born Lee Sun-kyung (이선경 in 1967 is a top-ranked Korean -born American Competitive eater from The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state Long Island is an island located in southeastern New York, USA, its western shores directly across from Manhattan, from which the island stretches The National Association of Realtors (NAR whose members are known as realtors (rē(əltər -ˌtôr is North America's largest Trade association representing Ed "Cookie" Jarvis is a Competitive eater from Long Island New York and is a top ranked eater and long-standing member of the International Federation of That year, Thomas packed away 167 wings to defeat Jarvis and returning-champ Simmons (who finished with 151) to become the first woman to win the event, winning a new car for her victory. Both competitors and fans did not want to see an "outsider" win the Wing Bowl. When it became apparent that Thomas could take the title away from a Philadelphian, Simmons gained the support of his fans and long-time competitors. One of the most dramatic moments saw Simmons's long-time rival Damaging Doug show his support for Simmons and keeping the Wing Bowl title in Philadelphia.
In 2005, Simmons regained the Wing Bowl title by defeating Thomas by a single chicken wing. This Wing Bowl coincided with the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl run.
Prior to the event, many fans were denied admission to the Wachovia Center despite waiting in line throughout the night. The Wachovia Center, formerly known as the CoreStates Center and the First Union Center, is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia Pennsylvania Admission to Wing Bowl had been on a first-come, first-served, general-admission basis. At 5am, when many fans were told to go home, some minor rioting started and police were called in. Riots are a form of Civil disorders characterized by disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of Violence, Vandalism or other Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force Following this, WIP and Wing Bowl organizers instituted ticketing for Wing Bowl to prevent another incident like this.
In the 2006 Wing Bowl, only two IFOCE eaters competed, with Joey Chestnut of San Jose, California winning the event. The International Federation of Competitive Eating Inc ( IFOCE) organizes supervises and regulates Eating contests across the globe acting as a central resource Joseph Christian "Jaws" Chestnut (born November 25, 1983) is an American Competitive eater currently ranked first in the world by the Prior to the event, a banner was raised to the rafters of the Wachovia Center in honor of Simmons's Wing Bowl accomplishments. Photos of the Virgin Wing Bowl can be viewed here on PhillySportsline.com
Wing Bowl XIV, touted as "The Virgin Wing Bowl," since no past Wing Bowl winners were allowed to participate, featured the induction of "El Wingador" as the first member of the new Wing Bowl Hall of Fame. A hall of fame (sometimes HOF) is a type of Museum established for any a field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field He was elected by a poll conducted on the 610 WIP website. Wing Bowl XIV was also the first Wing Bowl in which tickets had to be purchased for entry. This decision was mainly due to past problems where nearly 50,000 people had lined up outside of the Wachovia Center for entry to a venue that can hold only 20,000 people. Sales proceeds went to charity.
Wing Bowl 15 is known as "Philadelphia Against The World". Tickets sold out on the first day of sales. Wing Bowl 15 was presented by Philadelphia Park Casino. Philadelphia Park Casino and Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racetrack and Racino in Bensalem Pennsylvania. Pat Croce was this year's Wing Bowl Commissioner. Pasquale "Pat" Croce (born November 2, 1954 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) is an American Entrepreneur, sports team executive and owner Pat took the helm after the tragic loss of WIP's dear friend Eric Gregg. Eric Eugene Gregg ( May 18 1951 – June 5 2006) was an [1]
The wings in this bowl were smaller and much warmer than past Wing Bowls, leading the commentators to predict that the competitors could get past the 200-wing mark. At the end of the first round, a record 112 wings were eaten by Gentleman Jerry (for Philadelphia), giving him a 21-wing lead, the first double digit lead at halftime in Wing Bowl history.
The five finalists for the final two minutes were:
After going into the second round in ninth place, Chestnut came back and took the lead in round two by twelve wings. He also won the crown for the second year in a row, finishing with a record 182 wings. Finishing in fourth place, Gentleman Jerry was the top Philadelphia finisher with 167 wings.
After the announcement of champion, Hall of Famer "El Wingador" announced his out-of-retirement comeback to take his crown back from Chestnut in next year's Wing Bowl. View Wing Bowl 15 Photos Here on PhillySportsline.com
Going into Wing Bowl 16 WIP Host, Angelo Cataldi, billed it as the greatest Wing Bowl ever. With El Wingador coming out of retirement to square off against the number one eater in the world, Joey Chestnut. Wing Bowl 16 also featured a change in chicken wing providers, which contributed to the shattering of the elusive 200 wing mark.
After the 1st round, Joey Chestnut set a first round record with 124 wings, breaking Gentleman Jerry's record from last year of 112 wings, winning him a brand new Harley Davidson motorcycle. During the annoucement of the second round qualifiers, there was an error in the wing counting, which prompted Pat Croce, to change the number of second round participants from 10 to 12.
Standings after the first round were:
At the start of the second round, it looked as if El Wingador was making up ground on Joey Chestnut, finishing his first plate before the incumbent champion. But age and fatigue had set in and El Wingador was unable to put significant pressure on both Patrick Bertoletti and Joey Chestnut. The dark horse from the "kiddie table", Brad the lunatic, looked to pull an upset, but was disqualifed by Pat Croce for violating the rule "You Heave You Leave. " After many years of speculation, the 200 Wing mark was finally broken during this round by both Patrick Bertoletti and Joey Chestnut.
Final Five:
In the final 2 minute sprint for the crown, Joey Chestnut, was poised to cruise to the Wing Bowl crown, but kept on the pressure, devouring 241 wings at the final whistle. Despite a valiant effort and a personal best, El Wingador, could not take down the eating juggernaut, finishing with 205 wings. He has finally broken the elusive 200 wing mark he has coveted since entering in his first competition.
Final Standings:
Next years Wing Bowl is could bring us a new champion, as El Wingador had stated, "This year was a one shot deal" and Joey Chestnut's competitive eating tour de force may have come to an end. Patrick Bertoletti is considered to be the odd's on favorite for Wing Bowl 17. View Wing Bowl 16 Photos on AngeloCataldi.com and PIXGargano.com and PhillySportsline.com
| Wing Bowl | Date | Venue | Winner | Wings | Runner-up | Wings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 29 January 1993 | Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel | Carmen "The Beast From the East" Cordero | 100 | ||
| II | 28 January 1994 | The Main Event | Kevin "Heavy Keavy" O'Donnell | 127 | ||
| III | 27 January 1995 | Club Egypt | Kevin "Heavy Keavy" O'Donnell | 133 | ||
| IV | 26 January 1996 | Electric Factory | Glen "Fluffmaster" Garrison | 155 | ||
| V | 24 January 1997 | Electric Factory | Eric "Gentleman E" Biehl | 120 | ||
| VI | 23 January 1998 | Spectrum | Mark "Big Rig" Vogeding | 164 | ||
| VII | 29 January 1999 | Spectrum | Bill "El Wingador" Simmons | 113 | ||
| VIII | 28 January 2000 | First Union Center | "Tollman Joe" Paul | 90 | ||
| IX | 26 January 2001 | First Union Center | Bill "El Wingador" Simmons | 137 | ||
| X | 1 February 2002 | First Union Center | Bill "El Wingador" Simmons | 135 | ||
| XI | 24 January 2003 | First Union Center | Bill "El Wingador" Simmons | 154 | ||
| XII | 30 January 2004 | Wachovia Center | Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas | 167 | Ed "Cookie" Jarvis | 153 |
| XIII | 4 February 2005 | Wachovia Center | Bill "El Wingador" Simmons | 162 | Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas | 161 |
| XIV | 3 February 2006 | Wachovia Center | Joey Chestnut | 173 | Rich "The Locust" LeFevre | 151 |
| XV | 2 February 2007 | Wachovia Center | Joey Chestnut | 182 | Patrick Bertoletti | 170 |
| XVI | 1 February 2008 | Wachovia Center | Joey Chestnut | 241 | Patrick Bertoletti | 227 |