The ninth annual Trenton Thunder World Famous Case’s Pork Roll Eating Championship took place on Saturday, September 21. Approximately 1000 people gathered at Trenton Thunder Ball Park in Trenton, NJ to watch members of Major League Eating (MLE) eat as many sandwiches as possible in ten minutes.
The contest was led by nattily dressed and straw-hatted co-founder of MLE George Shea. Shea gave each titan of tucker a rousing introduction as the competitors walked out of the Thunder’s dugout, across the third base line, and into place in a line behind long banquet tables.
Sandwich-laden Thunder employees darted about in a baseball stadium converted to a colosseum of consumption. As the crowd grew quiet, a last-minute drink substitution was made for one of the competitors, who wanted to dip his sandwiches in Hawaiian Punch over water.
The eaters, some trembling with excitement, took up their first victim and the contest began.
James Webb, an Australian and fourth-ranked competitive eater according to MLE, sprinted to an early lead, eating 24 sandwiches in less than 3 minutes. But Geoff Esper, the third-ranked competitive eater in the world from Massachusetts according to MLE, was close behind.
The sandwiches consumed by Webb, Esper, and the other competitors were made of one slice of fried Case’s Pork Roll and one slice of American cheese on a hamburger bun.
Webb says, “Pork roll is one of the most difficult competitions (in Major League Eating). American bread is weirdly flavorless compared to bread in other parts of the world.”
Webb continues, “We don’t have anything like it in Australia. You have to get used to it.”
The reason Webb is unfamiliar with pork roll is because it’s native to New Jersey. Pork roll was invented in Trenton in 1856 by John Taylor of “Taylor Ham” fame. The recipe for Case’s Pork Roll is almost as old as pork roll itself, being invented by Taylor’s contemporary George Washington Case in 1870.
As Webb and the other competitors continued to eat sandwich after sandwich, they not only had placing in this year’s event in mind but also had the goal of eating more than last year’s winner.
The 2023 total of 43.5 was won by Esper who just barely squeaked by illustrious eaters like hotdog-eating champion Joey Chestnut.
Esper took the $2000 grand prize and his third straight title home with calculated 1-2-3 bites, ultimately finishing 44.5 sandwiches and defeating Webb by just a quarter of a sandwich.
Amid foaming beers pouring out of a rollicking concession stand and into the bellies of a crowd of mostly young professionals, long-time seasonal employee of Trenton Thunder Ballpark Robert Rhodes, said, “We missed [attending] two of these because of Covid, but we’re back in action now.”
Like Rhodes, Jason Kane, a Lawrenceville resident and Major League Eating fan, is glad Trenton Thunder is hosting the contest. Kane says, “I wish they would do events like this every weekend. There’s something special about being close to the players like this.”
While Geoff and Webb took first and second place, Nick Wehry, sixth-ranked in Major League Eating’s system, won third place after eating 42 of the sandwiches.
Wehry says from under his orange-dyed Mohawk, “I feel like a ninja turtle.” Wehry continues, now notably bulging about the stomach, “Only three more next year and I’ll win.”
This article was produced as part of MCCC’s Community Reporting “J Lab” certificate program made possible by grant funding from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities and The New School: Journalism + Design. For more information about the J Lab contact Program Director Prof. Holly Johnson at johnsonh@mccc.edu.
