Daily Dirt: Chestnut’s 16th hot dog-eating title puts him in elite company

Daily Dirt for Thursday, July 6, 2023

The man is truly a living legend … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 658 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Did you watch Joey Chestnut’s most-recent culinary conquest at New York City’s famous Coney Island? For those who may have missed it, Chestnut won his 16th Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating world championship in the last 17 years. The Major League Eating competition is always one of the July 4 highlights on ESPN. This year was no exception.

“Joey Chestnut came to Coney Island on Tuesday to eat at least 60 hot dogs in 10 minutes,” wrote Liz Roscher of yahoo.com. “And he, just like George Washington crossing the Delaware River in 1776, would not be denied.”

Chestnut won this year’s championship by downing a rather pedestrian 62 dogs in 10 minutes. His record is 76.

Chestnut has lost just once since 2007. Rival Matt Stonie ate 62 hot dogs in 2015, while Chestnut downed 60.

So where does this place Chestnut among the all-time greats? For comparison:

• Ric Flair, 16-time pro wrestling world championships 
• Bill Russell, 11 NBA titles
• Henri Richard, 11 Stanley Cup titles
• Yogi Berra, 10 World Series titles
• Tom Brady, 7 Super Bowl wins 

2. Hot dogs are not Chestnut’s only MLE specialty. He also holds, at last count, 52 other world eating records, including the following:

• 182 chicken wings in 30 minutes.
• 141 hard-boiled eggs in eight minutes.
• 126 tacos in eight minutes.
• 121 Twinkies in six minutes.
• 118 jalapeno peppers in 10 minutes.

3.Think eating a lot doesn’t pay? Chestnut’s net worth is roughly $4 million, according to clutchpoints.com. Chestnut has amassed his fortune through winning various MLE competitions and endorsements. He is 39 years old, stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 229 pounds.

Steve Thought O’ The Day
Fittingly, Chesnut’s nickname is “Jaws.”

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Does it surprise you that Steve is a fan of competitive eating?