Harry M. Stevens

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Harry M. Stevens
Born(1855-06-14)June 14, 1855
Derby, England, U.K.[a]
DiedMay 3, 1934(1934-05-03) (aged 78)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Resting placeUnion Cemetery,
Niles, Ohio, U.S.[2]
OccupationFood concessionaire
Known forBallpark food, creation of baseball scorecard, purported inventor of the hot dog
Children5

Harry Mozley Stevens[b] (June 14, 1855 – May 3, 1934) was a food concessionaire from England credited with being America's foremost ballpark concessionaire.[3] He is also attributed by various sources as being the inventor of the hot dog.[4][5][3]

Biography[edit]

Stevens was born in Derby, England, in 1855 and had connections to Litchurch there. He emigrated to Niles, Ohio, in the United States in 1882.[2] He was first employed as an ironworker, then as a traveling book salesman.[2]

In the late 1880s, Stevens traveled to Columbus, Ohio, and attended a baseball game.[2] He found the scorecard he was sold to be deficient, and quickly made his mark by designing and selling a version with a illustration on the cover, player names and positions listed inside, and an advertisement on the back, a design still in use.[2] He sold his scorecards to fans using the phrase "You can't tell the players without a scorecard."[3] Over time, he expanded to Toledo, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh,[2] and also founded Harry M. Stevens Inc., a stadium concessions company. In the mid-1890s, he expanded to New York City after meeting with John Montgomery Ward, then-manager of the New York Giants.[2] By 1900, Stevens had secured contracts to supply refreshments at several major-league ballparks across the country.

Stevens claimed that at a Giants' home game on a cold April day in 1901,[c] there was limited demand for ice cream so he decided to sell German "dachshund sausages", having his staff place them in bread rolls and sell them as "red hots".[3] Newspaper cartoonist Tad Dorgan,[6] reportedly recounting the event, was said to have been unable to spell dachshund, so wrote "hot dogs" instead.[3] This account has been disputed by researchers, who point out the earliest known hot-dog cartoon by Dorgan dates to 1906,[7] and "the term 'hot dog' was used for sausages in buns as early as 1895 in college newspapers."[8]

Stevens died in May 1934 in Manhattan following two bouts of pneumonia;[d] he was survived by his wife and five children.[9]

Harry M. Stevens Inc. was acquired by Aramark on December 12, 1994.[10]

Memorials[edit]

Stevens Park in Niles, Ohio, which opened in 1936, was named in his honor after his family donated its 35 acres (14 ha) to the city.[11] In 2013, the community began an annual "Harry Stevens Hot Dog Day".[2] The event includes entertainment, a dachshund race, and a hot dog eating contest.[2]

In early 2013, Derby City Council and Derby Civic Society jointly announced they would erect a blue plaque (historical marker) to his memory on his first marital home at 21 Russell Street in Derby, England.[12][13]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Some sources note alternate birth dates and locations, such as July 14, 1855, in London.[1]
  2. ^ Stevens' middle name appears as both Mozley and Mosley in different sources.
  3. ^ Some versions of the story cite alternate years.
  4. ^ Some sources cited arteriosclerosis as his cause of death.[6]

Sources[edit]

  • Rippon, Nicola, Derbyshire's Own, The History Press, 2006, ISBN 0750942592.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Antonio, Gene (1984). "Harry Stevens — The Hot Dog King". Niles Daily Times. Retrieved February 19, 2024 – via nileshistoricalsociety.org.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guerrieri, Vince (July 2018). "How Ohio's Harry M. Stevens Changed the Ballpark Experience". ohiomagazine.com. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Fost, Dan (2011). Giants Past and Present. MVP Books. pp. 130–131. ISBN 9780760342183 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Derby's claim to the hot dog". BBC Online. August 13, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  5. ^ Collins, Gail (January 15, 1985). "'Hot Dog,' This Company Says, After Being in Business Almost 100 Years". Los Angeles Times. UPI – via latimes.com.
  6. ^ a b "Creator of U. S. Hot Dog, Two-Way Peanut Is Dead". The Buffalo News. AP. May 4, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved February 19, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Popik, Barry (July 14, 2004). "Hot Dog (Polo Grounds myth & original monograph)". The Big Apple. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  8. ^ Boney, Stan (July 20, 2022). "27 Investigates: Did Niles' Harry Stevens actually invent the hot dog?". WKBN-TV. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  9. ^ "Harry M. Stevens, Hot Dog King, Dies At 78 of Pneumonia". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 4, 1934. p. 17. Retrieved February 19, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Chapman, Francesca (December 13, 1994). "Aramark Swallows Harry M. Stevens". Philadelphia Daily News – via philly.com.
  11. ^ Walsh, Blake (March 6, 2023). "20 Best Things to Do in Niles, OH: Play Tennis at Stevens Park". travellens.co. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  12. ^ "List Of Derbeians To Be Honoured". thisisderbyshire.co.uk. February 12, 2013. Archived from the original on April 23, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013 – via archive.today.
  13. ^ Mallett, Chris (February 12, 2013). "Hot dog seller Harry Stevens remembered with blue plaque". thisisderbyshire.co.uk. Archived from the original on May 5, 2013 – via archive.today.

Further reading[edit]

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