Pa. has the 2nd most 'Major League Eaters' in the nation. How many and who are they?
You won't believe what William "Wild Bill" Myers can do with a pile of chicken wings, or Larell Marie “The Real Deal” Mele with a plate of hot dogs.
These Pennsylvanians take competitive eating to another level, and they helped our state rank No. 2 in the nation for the number of native "Major League Eaters," according to Gambling.com.
The website compiled this list as the nation turns its eyes to Coney Island on the Fourth of July, home of the Super Bowl of competitive eating contests at Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog-Eating Contest.
The site also ranked Pennsylvania at seventh place among the top 10 best states for competitive eating.
Pennsylvania's Major League Eaters are:
Michael "Big Haus" Deitz - Lebanon
George Chiger - Pocono Pines
Larell Marie "The Real Deal" Mele - Long Pond
Brian "Dud Light" Dudzinski - Phoenixville
William "Wild Bill" Myers - Breinigsville
Lebanon native takes the title: Meet Lebanon's nationally ranked eater
Read about Larell Marie Mele: Long Pond woman hungry for Nathan's title
Major League Eating (MLE) is the world body that oversees all professional eating contests. In its roster there are currently 50 professional competitive eaters — both men and women.
Competitive eating is a popular activity in the United States, Canada and Japan, where participants compete against each other to eat large quantities of food, usually in a short period — often with a chance to win prizes, including cash.
"The world of professional competitive eating isn’t for the faint of heart. To be a Major League Eater you have to be physically and mentally prepared for consuming vast amounts of food in a short amount of time," a Gambling.com spokesperson said. "Many competitive eaters, like those competing in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, practice stretching out their stomachs for the main event by drinking gallons of milk or water very quickly, or by downing lots of filling, fibrous foods like watermelon and oatmeal in a matter of minutes."
Chiger and Mele of the Poconos actually trained together for the Nathan's contest, pushing each other to eat more, faster.
Deitz, of Lebanon, got his competitive eating career at, naturally, a Lebanon Bologna eating contest and went on to compete in many other events − some of which even featured healthy foods such as kale.
Top male and female international eaters from England, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, Australia and the United States will compete in the Nathan's contest contest this year.
Could this year's winner be from Pennsylvania? Tune into ESPN tomorrow to find out.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Pa. has the second most 'Major League Eaters' in the nation
