Wing Patrol

Some of Philly's finest make pigs of themselves in support of a fallen brother.

by J.F. Pirro

Michael T. Regan EGGHEADS: (From left) Larry and Danny Avington, John Burke, and Dan Calter (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

"A normal person runs away from a person with a gun," says Philadelphia Police Officer Dan Calter. "Cops run to that guy. It's the same with firefighters. I would never want to run into a burning building —unless I had to save someone. Most people run out of a burning building, but firefighters run into the fire."

That counterintuitive job requirement partially explains why officers Chuck Cassidy and Gary Skerski are no longer patrolling the streets.

Calter — an 11-year officer in the Philadelphia Police Department's 24th District who now works in the Detective Bureau at Eighth and Race — isn't complaining.

Instead, he's fundraising.

Known as "Fat Herb" on the force, and Dan "The Cop" on sports talk radio 610 WIP, the 6-foot-4, 275-pound policeman is returning to the station's Wing Bowl XVI Feb. 1 at the Wachovia Spectrum, but not before hosting a preliminary event, an All-Cop Wing Bowl, the week prior on Jan. 24 at the Eggs' Nest at Revere Street and Roosevelt Boulevard. At $20 an entry and $15 for T-shirts, all funds raised will be donated to the family of Cassidy, the officer shot and killed last Oct. 31 while interrupting a robbery at a Dunkin' Donuts in West Oak Lane.

"I love eating, but it all centers around [helping the Cassidys]," says Calter, who initially proposed drinking castor oil for his WIP qualifying eating stunt before the station's lawyers balked.

His pre-event in the Northeast is open to all city policemen. In years prior, Calter, a Wing Bowl veteran, always hosted a similar warm-up, but at a much smaller venue, Regan's on the Boulevard, with a smaller field. Before, it was just cops from the East Division, the 24th through 26th Districts.

The Eggs' Nest opened in October 2006 and is owned by two retired Philly cops — identical twin brothers Danny and Larry Avington, nicknamed "The Eggs" because of their common ovarian origins. Danny's three minutes older, but they started on the force at the same time, and retired the same day in 2004 after 34 years of service each. "To be honest, we wish we could go back tomorrow," Larry says. "We'd do 44 years each because of guys like Chuck. Everything you read in the paper, or the talk we hear at the bar, he was all that and more."

Contestants — who can enter until the day prior — will arrive by 7 p.m., and start eating by 9 p.m. (Calter's made special dispensation for two non-active-cop participants, a fireman and one retired policeman.)

With plates of 20 wings, there will be two qualifying speed rounds. The quickest five eaters will advance to the final round. There, the contestant who eats the most wings wins. Spectators are welcome; Larry, who expects 150 to watch, says he's getting scared.

"We're getting calls," he says. "I hope we have enough beer, booze and wings, but it's hard to gauge."

So is Calter the odds-on favorite?

"I don't know," he says of his own chances. "There are rumors of some pretty good eaters."

To qualify for the WIP event, he downed a 12-ounce bottle of Aunt Jemima maple syrup in seven seconds instead of the castor oil.

"Originally, I think the lawyers thought I was talking about [Castrol] motor oil, so they gave me a rash of shit," Calter says. "The lawyer wanted a letter from my doctor. Come on! I was talking about the laxative. It's all-natural. It might make you go to the bathroom, but it's not going to kill you."

Instead, Calter cut a hole in the bottom of a syrup bottle, covered it with his thumb, then on Al Morganti's "go," let it pour down his throat.

"It was actually (WIP) producer Joe Wechter who gave me the idea," Calter says. Preferential treatment, perhaps, but it hasn't helped Calter on game day. In five Wing Bowl tries Calter's never finished out of the bottom three. "That's not real good," he admits. "But when we started, we did it just to take the day off, rent a bus, hang out and have some fun."

If the wings are hot, Calter says he's good for 60 to 70. "I want to try to get to the second round this year," he says.

He's keeping his entourage under wraps. "I don't want anyone to steal my ideas," he says. "Let's just say I'm getting help from some bigger guys who are used to building floats and props. We want to win the entourage prize," which this year include a 73-inch flat-screen television and trips.

Calter's entourage will all be off-duty policemen. "It's always been guys," he says. "It's a strict rule my wife has."

He's married with children — just like Officer Cassidy, who was a decade-long partner in the 39th District with Calter's Wing Bowl manager, John Burke.

"There's been such an outpouring of support [for Cassidy's family], and it'll go on for months," Calter says, "but then later it really gets rough. There's the initial burst of shock, then there are anniversaries, the kids' birthdays. It gets rougher as it goes on. The initial shock numbs everything — but we've lost some of the best cops we've ever had."

(Another Cassidy fundraiser sponsored by the 35th District will be held Jan. 26 at the National Guard Armory.)

That reality gives the Jan. 24 eating event a bigger purpose along with the bigger venue.

"We're all just doing whatever we can do," Calter says. "I didn't know Chuck personally, except to see him in court because he made a helluva lot of arrests. That's how you know a good cop — because a good cop is always in court. They're the ones who put themselves in harm's way."

Calter's Wing Bowl T-shirts — in shades of Philly policemen uniform blues — pay homage to Cassidy. On the front left breast is Calter's WIP Dan "The Cop" logo. On the back, it says "The Return of Dan the Cop." On the sleeve, though, is Cassidy's badge number, 2342, and the words "Never Forgotten."

(j_pirro@citypaper.net)

For more information, call the Eggs' Nest at 215-333-EGGS.