At 71, Joseph Wigdor, a well-known local jeweler, was twice the age of the oldest other contestants at the City of Bayonne’s second annual Hot Dog Eating Contest. But he managed to finish as second runner-up anyway.
According to the contest rules, the contestant who ate the most hotdogs in one-minute won , with the next best receiving second place accolades.
Wigdor knew he could not beat the winner, Giovani Costa, who managed to swallow 19 hotdogs as a first place winner. H even knew he couldn’t match second place winner Anthony Clarkin. But Wigdor wanted to get into the winner’s circle and did, qualifying for the run-off with an 18-year-old for second runner up.
“I only needed a few more seconds.” – Joseph Wigdor
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“I was on my 15th hot dog when the judge called time,” he said. “I only needed a few more seconds.”
The annual event, held on July 18, was sponsored by the City of Bayonne, Bayonne Town Center Management Corporation, and Petridis Hot Dogs. It was actually Wigdor’s second attempt.
In June, Wigdor entered the Shop and Stop contest, a kind of warm up for the July 18 contest held on Broadway.
“It’s something I always wanted to do,” Wigdor said.
Wigdor is from a historic local family, which formerly owned Wigdor Diamond Jewelers – operated once on the corner of 21st and Broadway. The business was a family venture that started in 1889.
The Wigdor building received New Jersey landmark status in 1992. It was originally built in 1859 as White’s Hotel, a popular stagecoach and hitching post stop.
Isaac Wigdor, who was the official watch inspector of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, converted it to storefronts in 1894, establishing a watchmaker and jeweler there.
The building was unfortunately demolished to make way for a movie theater in the mid-1990s, which was never built.
Wigdor was by far the oldest contestant in either of this year’s hotdog eating contests. At the Shop and Stop contest in June, he was added to the roster as the 11th contestant as a tribute to his age.
But on July 18, he competed as a regular contestant, something he said he was very proud to have accomplished.
Petridis Hot Dogs on Broadway and 25th Street has its own place in history, since the original owner started out a street-side vendor, with his cart located on that corner many years ago.
The event is one of several put on by the city and Town Center Management in order to promote the Broadway shopping district, and the contest coincided with a week long merchant’s sidewalk sale.