SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JULY 18, 2021
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He's a top dog in hot dog eating contests
BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer
E
rik “The Red” Denmark works in aerospace procurement contracting by day, but he pursues a unique hobby when he’s not on the job. Denmark is a competitive eater in Major League Eating, which hosts several contests – including the famous Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest that occurs every July 4 at Coney Island. Denmark placed 10th in this year’s contest but has finished as high as fourth in previous eat-ins. He also holds world records for eating 9 3/4 of Native American fry bread in eight minutes and over four pounds of spot shrimp in 12 minutes. He began competing in 2005 but it was an event that happened four years prior that really inspired him. “I was always fascinated by it but when (Takeru) Kobayashi doubled the world record with 50 hot dogs in 2001, that blew
Erik “The Red” Denmark relaxes after eating 32 hot dogs and placing sixth at the 2010 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. (Courtesy of Shea Communications.
my mind,” Denmark said. Denmark always considered himself to be a competitive eater even before he be-
gan competing. “I had always thought I was a big eater. I ate really fast and I would never turn down
a challenge,” Denmark said. “I would always do a lot of hot sauce chugging contests or eat the spiciest things.” It was when he entered a chicken wing eating contest in San Francisco and finished in the top five that changed things for the man known in Major League Eating as “The Red.” “That contest got me hooked and ever since then I’ve been trying to do the best that I can,” Denmark said. He has competed in the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest since 2006; this year marked the first year he competed since 2018. Denmark admits that this contest posed more challenges than any other. “This contest gave me a shorter runway since the logistics of having the contest were in doubt until mid-May due to the restrictions in New York that were just lifted,” Denmark said. Denmark would traditionally train for
see HOT DOG page 20
Scottsdale man taking over Baseball Hall of Fame
BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Progress Staff Writer
osh Rawitch was in his last week as an executive with the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was the All-Star week and he was just leaving a meeting about the Suns Road Game Rally at Chase Field. Rawitch sounded confident but sentimental about the decade he has spent with the D-backs, most recently as senior vice president, content and communications. On Sept. 9, the 44-year-old Scottsdale resident will begin his tenure as the eighth president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. He, his wife, Erin, and their children, Emily and Braden, will
Scottsdale resident Josh Rawitch, his wife Erin and thier childrn, Emily and Braden, are packing up to move to Cooperstown, N.Y., where he'll head the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. (Kelsey Grant/Arizona Diamonbacks)
move east on Aug. 6. His last day with the D-backs was July 16 – nearly 10 years to the day when he joined the team. “It’s hard to put into words how cool of a position this is,” Rawitch said about the presidency. “We’ve gone through the process and were able to visit Cooperstown several more times. We’re really, really excited. We loved our decade here, though, and so did the family.” Jane Forbes Clark, chair of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, is looking forward to working with Rawitch as well. “On behalf of our board of directors, I
see FAME page 20
