For Major League Eating, July 4th is the Super Bowl
Managing the sport of gluttony
Competitors at one of the first documented Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contests, which took place in 1972, in Coney Island, New York.
Every year on Independence Day, it’s countdown to glory for the world’s most competitive eaters at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The rules are simple - devour as many franks and buns as possible in 10 minutes without chucking up. Drinking and dunking is permitted and in case of a tie, the gastric athletes go into an eat-off.
Leaving some audiences in awe and others in revulsion, winners walk away with the Mustard Belt (Pink Belt for women), a $10,000 cash prize, and a colossal indigestion.
Running the event for close to 30 years is Major League Eating (MLE), the world body that oversees professional eating contests.
“We call ourselves a small business with big events,” says Rich Shea, President of MLE.
With 8 employees on staff, Rich and his brother George help sponsors develop, publicize, and execute world-class eating events in all varieties of food disciplines.
By far, Nathan’s famous dog fest on July 4th is the super bowl of all eating contests, drawing hundreds of millions of traditional TV and digital media impressions.
At the corner of Brooklyn’s Surf and Stillwell Avenues, thousands attend the annual food-gobbling event, which mixes whimsical patriotism with summer festivities.
Wearing a straw hat and emceeing the event with hyperbole introductions, George has been a showmanship fixture at the eating carnival for over 3 decades.
“It’s part of the fabric of the July 4th celebrations in Coney Island.”
Nathan’s Famous harks back to 1916 when Polish immigrant, Nathan Handwerker, opened his nickel dog stand in Coney Island, New York.
Using his wife’s secret recipe, the all-beef finger food grew in popularity and by 1968, the company went public with dozens of restaurants and franchises.
Though legend has the contest dating back to Nathan’s origins, the first recorded dog-chomper took place in 1972 with the help of New York public relations impresario, Mort Matz, who also represented the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce.
By 1997, the Shea brothers, who had long worked for Matz as press agents, formed their own PR firm and decided to widen Nathan’s belt of rapid feasting.
“In the late 1990s, George and I leaned into it more since media coverage was growing and we were getting a kick out of it.”
They convinced Nathan’s to take the alimentary contest to its other fast-food locations and hold competitions leading up to July 4th.
With qualifying events, MLE gave the hot dog eating contest a structure and a circuit similar to professional sports. “The notion was to advance it safely and with integrity.”
This year, qualifiers for a berth at Coney Island included Bristol (CT), Cleveland (OH), Kansas City (MS), Pleasanton (CA), Washington (DC), and Hershey (PA).
Past champions like gut-busting kingpin, Joey Chestnut, get automatic entry for the 4th, along with 2 other wildcard contestants and a select number of special invitees.
In the early 2000s, Joey’s publicized rivalry with top-dog eater, Takeru Kobayashu, helped elevate the competition’s visibility and expand its reach.
After being barred last year by MLE for signing up with Impossible Foods, a Nathan’s competitor which makes vegan products, Joey returned to the 2025 stage in Coney Island with a vengeance.
Winning the event after downing 71.5 bunned beefs, the 41-year-old proved that he was still at the top of the food chain. His count of 76 in 2021 remains a world record.
Miki Sudo, the reigning champ of the women’s division with 11 victories in her tummy, won with 33 but fell short of her record of 51, which she set last year.
Today, MLE manages some 70 sponsored eating contests with cash prizes, ranging from ribs to wings, and hotcakes to strawberry shortcakes.
“We’ve had oysters and crawfish multiple times, but every year something new pops up on the circuit.”
2025 started out with the World Bagel Eating Championship in Las Vegas, which was won by none other than Joey. The stomach celebrity took down 15 lbs. of bagels with cream cheese in 8 minutes.
A few months later it was the World Donut Eating Championship in Washington, DC with the Salvation Army, which traces its donuts roots to WWI when it provided sweet comfort food to American soldiers on the front lines.
Food athlete James Webb added another victory to his collection after eating 64 glazed donuts in 8 minutes.
By virtue of history and tradition, Nathan’s still remains the stomach-centric leader in MLE’s portfolio.
One might even say that the only thing that changed in a Nathan’s hot dog for the last 5 generations is the price - a nickel then, and $7.19 now (varies by location).
At Nathan’s 70th-anniversary celebration in 1986 near its Times Square location, then NYC Mayor Ed Koch lamented about the demise of the 5-cent hot dog.
Nathan’s son, Murray Handwerker, who inherited the business and was running the national chain, responded accordingly:
“The 5-cent frankfurter went out with the 5-cent subway ride.”
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