Filmmakers look back at when Wing Bowl reigned in South Philly

Philly-based filmmaker Pat Taggart never really thought much of the Wing Bowl -- the long-running, debaucherous buffalo wing eating competition that was led by WIP's Angelo Cataldi and Al Morganti for more than two decades.

He had attended in the past -- once, he even carried a float for a friend's entrance as a competator -- but never thought too much about it.

But, now, Taggart said in an interview with NBC10, he's become something of an expert on the topic.

"It's the most unique event in the history of media," he joked in a recent interview.

Now, Taggart and his filmmaking partner, Frank Petka, through their Own Town Productions company, are making a documentary looking back on the 26-year history of the wing eating competition.

And, he said, the idea for the documentary was originally presented by Cataldi.

Taggart said several years ago, when promoting a documentary called "Billboard Boys," Taggart said he and Petka were together on WIP when, at some point in the conversation, Cataldi suggested that as filmmakers they should do a piece on Wing Bowl.

They liked the idea, he said, but didn't do anything with it immediately.

"We kind forgot about it and COVID happened," Taggart said.

But, recently, the friends were talking and the subject of Wing Bowl was brought up and, Taggart said, he found himself asking "how come no one has done this yet?"

The decided to fix that and, shortly after, met Cataldi in Sea Isle, NJ, and began the process to create a documentary that they have titled, "No One Died: The Wing Bowl Story."

And, Taggart said, name comes from something that Wing Bowl organizers said every year.

"Every year they would turn to each other and say 'thank god no one died,'" said Taggart.

From hibachis to Hyundais

From humble beginnings as a wing eating competition between two men in the lobby of the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel in 1993, to an event that drew thousands to its final celebration in the Wells Fargo Center in 2018, Wing Bowl grew exponentially over the years.

Every year, prizes grew -- the first year, the winner got a hibachi grill and, at the last event, the winner took home a Hyundai Sonata, $5,000 and other rewards -- as did the crowd of contenders and the amounts of wings that they were able to eat, as well.

As chronicled online, first Wing Bowl ended with Carmen Cordero putting away 100 wings to be crowned champion. But, in the final Wing Bowl, that feat wouldn't come close to the podium.

Instead, in the last Wing Bowl, Molly Schuyler ate 501 wings to take the title.

Pat Taggart

And, if the first Wing Bowl was tame, with two men facing off in a hotel lobby, no once could have ever known it would grow into a celebration that saw competitors carried to through an arena like hungry gladiators preparing for a feast while flanked by dozens of scantily clad women.

"None of it made sense. It still doesn't," said Taggart.

Still, he said, the long-running event offered years of fun, a cast of colorful characters and offered a -- pardon the pun -- taste of something that was uniquely Philadelphian.

It's that quality that Taggart said he wanted to highlight in the upcoming documentary.

"We wanted to tell a story that was unique to Philadelphia but could be told to anyone," he said.

And, though Wing Bowl seems to not be well remembered, Taggart said that, in talking to the people who participated, organized and attended over the years, he found something of a "brotherhood and sisterhood" between those who were a part of the events.

"It's something that couldn't happen anymore. It kind of happened at the perfect time," he said.

Taggart said that the team is still working on putting the finishing touches on the documentary and they expect "No One Died: The Wing Bowl Story," to be available on streaming services in the near future.