For 21 years, former big-league pitcher Frank Pastore held the speed record for finishing the Big Texan Steak Ranch’s 72-ounce steak meal in an eye-popping (and stomach-churning) time of 9 1/2 minutes.

On Monday, his record was broken. By a professional eater, no less.

Those unfamiliar with the 72-Ounce Challenge think you have to eat just the steak. That’s not so. You also have to consume a salad, dinner roll, baked potato and shrimp cocktail in a 60-minute time frame. You also have to do it in one sitting; there’s no getting up to upchuck your meal in the restroom so you have more room in your stomach.

If you eat it all in one hour, it’s free. If you don’t, you’re out $72. Only about one in five people who take the 72-ounce challenge finish it.

Amazingly, Pastore not only inhaled the big steak in record time, but he did it seven times — all in rapid fashion. Pastore wrote in Townhall.com on Tuesday:

The first time I did it was in February 1976, on my way to my first Spring Training with the Cincinnati Reds, and I did it in 21 minutes. That fall, on my way home, I completed it in 19 minutes. The next spring, 17; on the way home, 15; the following spring, 13; then 11 on the way home in 1978.

My fastest time — and the world record for almost 21 years — was set in May 1987 in which I did it in 9½ minutes. I thought it would be my last time through town, since my career was coming to an end, and I was right. I haven’t been back to the most famous steak house in the world since then.

I’ve always been so proud of The Record. In many ways, I’m more known for The Steak than I am for my 8-year mediocre pitching career or my radio show in Los Angeles.

The record was broken by Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, who is ranked No. 1 in the International Federation of Competitive Eating. Chestnut polished of the 72-ounce steak and all the trimmings in 8 minutes, 52 seconds. Before his latest feat at the Big Texan, Chestnut held 16 eating records, according to Wikipedia.

No video of Chestnut’s steak eating has surfaced yet. But if you want to see his prodigious talent, watch him cram down 28 Krystal burgers in two minutes:

Pastore was a good sport about his record being broken, but added:

You know, these professionals are taking all the fun out of gluttony.

Donald Gray, who’s been trying to save the historic Harvey House in Seligman, Ariz., from the wrecking ball, reported Tuesday that negotiations to buy or move the property broke down and that the structure will be razed within three weeks.

Gray said he confirmed the bad news through Lena Kent, who is regional public affairs representative for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, which owns the long-vacant property.

The Harvey House, also known as the Havasu, received a reprieve last fall when a group of local residents persuaded the railroad to hold off on the demolition.

Gray also told the Route 66 yahoogroup:

I did get some good news with the bad … the good news is that they’re trying to get me permission to go inside and do a “historical” final photo shoot of the interior of the building.

The other positive was the word that they may also allow either the Chamber of Commerce or Seligman Historical Society to salvage some of the smaller historical items before the demolition is completed. Details are being worked out and I should get the word in the next few days. The BNSF rep said she’d do her best to get me on the inside for the photos since I’ve been working on this preservation project for such a long time and have put in such an effort to save it. [...]

I will do my very best to preserve (through my photos) the last days of the 1905 structure where my grandparents first met. I’m glad my grandparents aren’t still alive to see this happen. Grandma was proud to have been a Harvey Girl and enjoyed the life and ability to see the “wild west” that some of the Harvey Girls were offered.