Wing Bowl was an annual eating contest founded in 1993 by Philadelphia talk-radio hosts Angelo Cataldi and Al Morganti. The contest was first broadcast on WIP. About 150 people attended Wing Bowl I in 1993 to see a competition between two contestants. The event pits competitive eaters in a Buffalo wing eating contest. The Wing Bowl is traditionally held on the Friday before the Super Bowl. 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." From 2000 to 2018, the event was held at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, where they did live broadcasts on 94-WIP-FM. There were no television deals to broadcast the event live; however, a replay was usually shown on CW 57, Comcast SportsNet, or one of the other local stations within the following week. The Wing Bowl drew crowds of over 20,000. The final Wing Bowl, Wing Bowl XXVI was held on February 2, 2018 and the winner was Molly Schuyler, who devoured a record 501 wings in a half hour.
Background
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. 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. Carmen Cordero walked away with the inaugural title, receiving a hibachi as his prize. Since then, media coverage has grown to the point where every one of the major Philadelphia television stations has covered the event. The ABC 6, CBS Channel 3 and Fox 29 affiliates all aired live reports from the event during their morning news. Features on the event have appeared in the Courier-Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News as well as a host of newspapers in the surrounding counties. The event has been featured on ESPN and the syndicated television shows Real TV and The Montel Williams Show. 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 2007 Wing Bowl was carried on Comcast Cable's On Demand channel. Then Mayor of Philadelphia and future Governor of PennsylvaniaEd Rendell attended Wing Bowls II, III, IV and VI, where he presented the winner with a "Liberty Bell" trophy. Other celebrities who have appeared include retired heavyweight boxerRandall "Tex" Cobb, former 76ers President Pat Croce, former Phillies manager Larry Bowa, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, and others. Major-league umpireEric Gregg served as the "Commissioner" of Wing Bowl from its second year until his death from a stroke on 5 June 2006. From December 2006 to 2013, Pat Croce was the second commissioner. Jon Dorenbos served as the last commissioner from 2014, and served the final 5 editions.
Qualifications
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 94 WIP studios in Center City, Philadelphia, with Al Morganti as judge. Stunts have included eating 20 cups of cooked oatmeal, eating of creamed spinach with of hot sauce, and eating five Big Macs. 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. 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 of milk. 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 "Wingoff." A "Wingoff" is a 10-minute eating contest held at a Philadelphia or South Jersey bar hosted by former Philadelphia Eagle and WIP Host Hugh Douglas and WIP Personality Marc Farzetta. The "Wingoffs" began in 2005 when 610 WIP decided to spoof the Big 5 Philadelphia area universities basketball teams. The winner of these "Wingoffs" gain automatic entry into the Wing Bowl.
Cancellation
WIP announced on October 30, 2018 that event was being canceled after 26 years because the time for doing so felt right after the Eagles won Super Bowl LII. According to WIP program director Spike Eskin, "When Wing Bowl started... a large part of it was the lead-up to the Super Bowl never involved the Eagles. We just wanted to get to the promised land."
Champions
Past Wing Bowls
2007 - Wing Bowl XV
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. Pat Croce was this year's Wing Bowl Commissioner. Pat took the helm after the tragic loss of WIP's dear friend Eric Gregg.
2008 - Wing Bowl XVI
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.
2009 - Wing Bowl XVII
Unlike the past years in which professional eaters were allowed to participate, Wing Bowl 17 on January 30, 2009 at the Wachovia Center, was an all Amateur eater event, promoting eaters from the local neighborhoods in and around the Philadelphia area. There are 25 eaters in Wing Bowl 17, with Wing Bowl 8 Champion "Tollman Joe" participating. This marks the first occasion that Wing Bowl creator Al Morganti gave a special dispensation that Tollman Joe did not have to perform an eating stunt to be in the Wing Bowl field, since he has been the only amateur to beat Bill "El Wingador" Simmons. Jonathan "Super" Squibb of Winslow Twp., NJ, took the Wing Bowl 17 title of Wing Bowl Champion by eating 203 wings.
2010 - Wing Bowl XVIII
Wing Bowl 18 took place on February 5, 2010. Jonathan Squibb finished with a total of 238 wings to win his second Wing Bowl in a row. Squibb finished 93 wings ahead of the second place finisher and won a Ford F-150 truck and a championship ring as prizes.
2011 - Wing Bowl XIX
Jonathan Squibb won for the third consecutive year by 255 eating wings to win Wing Bowl 19. Squibb's total broke the record of 241 wings set by Joey Chestnut at Wing Bowl 16 and was one wing more than second place finisher Bill "El Wingador" Simmons was able to eat. Squibb won $20,000 in cash and 2011 Dodge Ram truck.
2012 - Wing Bowl XX
set a new competition record by eating 337 wings to win Wing Bowl 20. Kobayashi's total was 82 wings more than the previous competition record set by Jonathan Squibb. Squibb also broke his own record, but finished in second with 271 wings. Kobayashi won $20,000 in cash and a championship ring as prizes.
2013 - Wing Bowl XXI
Wing Bowl 21 was won by James McDonald who ate a total of 287 wings. McDonald finished five wings ahead of three-time champion Jonathan Squibb to win $20,000 in cash and a $7,500 championship diamond ring.
2014 - Wing Bowl XXII
won Wing Bowl 22 by eating a total of 363 wings. Schuyler's total broke the previous record of 337 set at Wing Bowl 20 by Takeru Kobayashi. Patrick Bertoletti finished second with 356 wings. Schuyler received the $22,000 top prize for her win.
2015 - Wing Bowl XXIII
The winner of Wing Bowl 23 was Patrick Bertoletti. Bertoletti ate 444 wings to set a new Wing Bowl record and finished four wings ahead of defending champion Molly Schuyler. Bertoletti received a Harley Davidson Fat Boy motorcycle, $10,000 in cash, and a one-of-a-kind commemorative ring for winning.
2016 - Wing Bowl XXIV
Molly Schuyler won Wing Bowl 24 with a total of 429 wings to finish 21 wings ahead of second place finisher Patrick Bertoletti. Schuyler won a 2016 Harley Davidson Fat Boy motorcycle, $10,000 in cash, and a custom made Wing Bowl 24 championship ring as prizes.
2017 - Wing Bowl XXV
won Wing Bowl 25 with a count of 409 wings to finish ahead of David T. "Wings & Things" Brunelli by 23 wings. Celebrity guests included actor/rapper, Coolio and former pro-wrestler, Ric Flair. Shoudt won $10,000 in cash, a Hyundai Santa Fe, a ring and a medal as prizes.
2018 - Wing Bowl XXVI
Molly Schuyler broke her own female record and devoured an event-record 501 wings to win the title. She received $5,000, a 2018 Hyundai Sonata, a ring and medal. "Wings & Things" was 2nd, 105 behind her.
