$1,000 Hot Dog Night

Last year, the Nashua Silver Knights invited me up to historic Holman Stadium in Nashua, NH to be the guest of honor on $1,000 Hot Dog Night as part of the National Hot Dog Month Tour.

This year, they are holding $1,000 Hot Dog Night on Tuesday, June 26. It may be a bit early for the National Hot Dog Month 2012 Tour, but the Hotdogman will be on hand nonetheless! Assuming the weather holds, The Silver Knights will take on The Wachusett Dirt Dogs at 7:05 PM.

Like last year, I will be tossing out the first pitch and eating the ceremonial first hot dog of $1,000 Hot Dog night.

The way the promotion works is, when you buy a hot dog, there could be money stuffed in the wrapper in the form of one, five, ten, twenty, or even a hundred dollar bill! If you're lucky, you'll win enough to pay for your dogs or even the whole evening.

Whether you win or not, taking the family to Holman Stadium is an inexpensive way to view some quality amateur baseball. The Silver Knights are part of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League- a summer, wood bat league featuring elite college baseball players. Like its more famous cousin, The Cape Cod Baseball League, the FCBL provides fans with good baseball at a cheap price in a family friendly, minor league atmosphere.

If you don't have anything to do that night, head on over to Nashua and catch the game. First pitch is at 7:05 PM. See you there!

National Hot Dog Month Developments

July will be upon us soon, and with July comes the National Hot Dog Month 2012 Tour! I have been planning for a few months now, but preparations will kick into high gear over the next few weeks.

I am preparing my list of places to visit, and when it is finalized, I will publish it. Don't forget to vote for your favorite hot dog joint that you'd like to see included on the tour HERE. I can't guarantee I will get to every place, but I do a lot of Hot Dog Stories from now through November, so even if a place isn't visited in July, I still may get there. Don't forget, we go Hot Doggin' in Maine, Montreal, Florida, and all over New England. I also plan to attend the new Jersey Hot Dog Tour in the fall!

Kodak has provided us with cameras, Onion Crunch is going to provide some product for the tour too.

We will be doing a "warm up" visit to Holman Stadium in Nashua, NH on Tuesday June 26 for their $1000 Hot Dog Night. The hot dog wrappers are stuffed with $1, $5, $10, $20, and $50 bills so each patron has a chance to win some  money with their purchase. That night, the Nashua Silver Knights will be playing the Wachusett Dirt Dogs and The Hotdogman will be throwing out the first pitch and eating the ceremonial first hot dog! I might referee a hot dog eating contest too.

I am also pleased to announce that Pearl Franks are the OFFICIAL National Hot Dog Month Hot Dog! We will be kicking off the month of July with a visit to their plant in Randolph, MA. Buddy Lazaro has promised us some franks, including their new Jalapeno Franks, to bring around to vendors and patrons alike while on the tour. We'll get the nickel tour of the plant to kick off the month and we'll go from there!

Thanks Pearl!

A Hot Dog a Day Number Twelve: Nashua Silver Nights $1000 Hot Dog Night

For the July 12th installment of my National Hot Dog Month Celebration, I turned the convertible north to Holman Stadium in Nashua, New Hampshire- the home of the Nashua Silver Knights.

Here I am posing with the Nashua Silver Knights "Love Bug" parked outside the stadium.

Holman Stadium has that old timey, minor league ball park aura- it's inexplicable, but you can feel it.

Holman Stadium was built in 1937 and named after Charles Frank Holman, who contributed $55,000 for the project. The stadium was home to farm teams for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Brooklyn Dodgers, and California Angels (plus a host of other minor league outlets) over the years.

The stadium was renovated in 2002 to give it a face lift and add luxury and press boxes. It is now the home of the Nashua Silver Knights of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. The FCBL was formed in 2010 to provide collegiate baseball players with a summer league in which to showcase their skills. It's a wood bat league and is very similar to the Cape Cod Baseball League. There are currently four teams in the FCBL: The Martha's Vineyard Sharks of Martha's Vineyard, MA; the Seacoast Mavericks of Rochester, NH; the Torrington Titans of Torrington, CT; and the Nashua Silver Knights. There are rumors of expansion for the league too, but we'll have to wait and see.

You really couldn't ask for a better venue for a baseball game. There are no bad seats in the house and there is plenty of leg room in the seats (unlike my beloved Fenway). 

It's an intimate park with just a little more than 4,300 seats, a gorgeous field, and even a play area for the kids. It's a great place for a family night out or an outing for a Little League team without breaking the bank.

As the patrons started coming in, I thought I'd find my way around.

Wally, the Green Monster, took tickets at the gate.

I couldn't resist!

I eventually found Tim Geromini, Director of Business Development for the Silver Knights. He read about my quest to eat a hot dog a day for National Hot Dog Month and invited me down to the ball park to throw out the first pitch and eat the ceremonial first hot dog for their $1000 hot dog night. Fans were treated to $1.00 Kayem hot dogs and had a chance to win $1, $2, $5, $10, $20 or even $50. The vendors stuffed bills in between the wrappers. The Knights offer different promotions (Thursday night is dollar draft beer night) on different days- so there' bound to be something for everyone.

Before we knew it, it was time for the National Anthem.

Here I am throwing out the first pitch- it was high and outside, but I didn't skip it!

Here's me CHOWING DOWN the ceremonial first hot dog.

The concession crew had time to pose for a picture...

...before the big rush.

Condiments are self serve- NO KETCHUP PACKETS COULD BE FOUND!!!

This couple fed a family of 6 for only twenty bucks!

This lucky diner won five bucks. 

I never did find the lucky winner of the $50 hot dog, but Veggyhead and I were treated to a very exciting game capped by an eighth inning, 4 run rally that saw DH James Katsiroubas blast a three run homer over the left field fence to seal the deal for the Silver Knights' 7-4 victory.

Hopkinton's own Mark Sanborn, Knights' first baseman (and Snappy Dogs fan) was ecstatic about the win. He hit a key base hit to keep the rally going- much to the delight of his dad, who was in attendance.

The Silver Knights have a great venue and play an exiting and entertaining brand of baseball in a very fan and family friendly environment. It's nice to be able to take the gang out to the ball park without having to take out a home equity line!

TWO THUMBS WAAAAY UP!

If you go catch a game, when you go to the concession stand, make sure you tell them "The Hotdogman sent me!"

Watch the video on Hot Dog Stories.

Nashua Silver Knights $1,000 Hot Dog Night

Tonight, Tuesday July 12th, I'll be having my hot dog a day at a special place. I have been invited to The Nashua Silver Nights baseball game to throw out the first pitch and eat the ceremonial first hot dog of $1,000 hot dog night! The Silver Knights, a Futures Collegiate Baseball League Team, are putting money in their hot dog wrappers. Hungry fans will get the opportunity to win 5$, $10, $20 or even $50 when they purchase a hot dog for a dollar.

Wally, the Green Monster is going to be there- so bring the kids!

Since the game doesn't start until 7PM, I won't have pictures up until midnight or later.

If you want to know more about the Silver Knights, visit their webpage. For more info about $1K Hot Dog Night, click HERE.

SEE YOU AT THE GAME!