The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-09
EXIT VAL, RECORD
 HUT D0G YOURER
Even Ours Snap At Loser Of Contest That Makes His
 tory In East Side

NEW YORK, Dec. S.-In roped arena in the back of John Leppig s place, 101 Avenue A, two grim fig ures. all the grimmer beneath the pitiless calcium that beat upon them battled grmly for a world title.
 One had to fall. One always has to fall. Champions have no mort gage on their titles. And Fate or dained thatS yesterday Val Menges should be the champion to fall. Val Menges, the man who won the plau dits of every lover of frankfurters in the country year ago yesterday when he ate 51 wienies and then got gavotte. Val Menges. the man at whose name every frankfurter has trembled. at whose name every blade of sauerkraut has withered in fright.
 Val crept out of Leppig's last night with his hands on his stomach, a beaten man. As he crossed the threshold a dog saw him, blanch ed in fright for the merest fraction of a second. and then heard the shouting and the tumult within. The dog knew. His aspect Shifted stood bis ground and parked impudently at Val Menges..
 Five hours earlier the very appear ance of Val Menges would have sent that cur scurrying to cover.
 O 0 O
 Bent. But Not Broken.
 Today Val Menges. bent but not broken nan, knows how Tickle Fame is He knows that when the crowd cheers the popular favorite of the moment, it may have rock up its sleeve. or a quart of raspberries hid den beneath it's waistcoat F
 Inside the hall thousand men were cheering the new champion. The sturdy shoulders of 90 men were bearing John Husin. the winner. in was heavy when he entered the con- test; he was heavier when he fin ished. At the first round the 50 called for help and 25 other adulants S rushed forward. eager to have a hand in the procession; eager to be able to tell their children, their children's s children and their children's chill helped carry John Husin in triumph around. Leppig's hall the night he sent Val Menges down to defeat, way back in '23.
 The crowd took upthe song. "Hark Hark, the Dogs Do Bark; Cham pions Come to Town" and the sound reached other thousands wait ing outside for news of the contest
 "Who Is the new frankfurter cham
 
 "Husin!" somebody cried
 How many did he eat?" the crowd shot back.
 "Fifty-three"
 Crowd Is Overwhelmed.
 What a roar went up from that crowd One man had eaten 53 frank furters. The crowd was over whelmed.
 They wanted to see the new champ. They demanded that he appear. He did. at an upper window of Leppigs crowned with frankfurters, and crowd rained frankfurters on him. One couldn't glance up without run ming the risk of getting a frankfur- ter in the eye.
 Husin really had been a dark horse. Some say Menges was overconfident and had in fact eaten 20 frankfurt CTS for lunch before coming to the contest At any rate, when he had reached his fortieth, something in him seemed to give way.
 Spectators urged him on. He ate another They pleaded. He ate an other. They coaxed. He ate another. It was clear he was in pain. His sec onds came forward with bicarbonate his forty fourth frankfurter-and swooned.
 Meanwhile. the new champion was briskly eating his thirty-fourth He went on easily, with the slow. loping movement of the trained frankfurter eater. His managers stopped him at his fifty third. He had broken the record. The crowd broke loose.
 From distant point Val Menges