Video: 'Team Hoover' Wins Charity Pizza-Eating Contest

Phillip Kraese of South Huntington and James Finnegan of Port Jefferson Station annihilated a 30-inch cheese pie in a record 16 minutes on Saturday at the ninth annual  in Northport to benefit St. Baldrick's Foundation. 

"Team Hoover" was neck in neck with one other team at the sixteenth minute when Finnegan closed his mouth on the sole remaining crust, breaking last year's record of 17 minutes and winning them a place in the hall of fame.

This was Finnegan's first eating contest. He ate five slices of Sicilian the night before but said it did nothing to prepare him for the experience of eating a 30-inch pie. The only thing that kept him holding on was breaking that record.

"We knew the record was 17 minutes and we wanted to be the first to finish," he said. "But you don't realize how quickly you fill up."

His partner Phillip Kraese, a firefighter with Huntington Manor Fire Department, is a veteran competitive eater and placed third in a "pig out" contest on The Opie and Anthony Show some years ago. Nevertheless, he found himself praying to the porcelain gods on Saturday after wolfing down the monster pizza. 

“It hit me about an hour later, after I got home," he laughed. 

Kraese and his four sons shaved their heads and raised $2500 for the St. Baldrick's Foundation at a fundraiser at in March. He said St. Baldrick's has a place in his heart and he will return to Nina's Pizza next year to raise money and defend his title. Finnegan, on the other hand, was a little more reluctant about the eating part.

"I'll never look at pizza the same way again," he said.

The event raised over $4,000 on Saturday to benefit the St. Baldrick's Foundation for child cancer research. To find out more, visit the Nina's Pizza event page on Facebook. 

Update: As of 9 p.m. Sunday, the total raised from the Nina's Pizza eating contest/block party is $5,600, making it the "biggest year yet" in the event's history of donations to St. Baldrick's, according to owner Artie Burke.