Harry Mozley Stevens (June 14, 1855 – May 3, 1934) was a food concessionaire from England credited with being America's foremost

ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...

concessionaire. He is also attributed by various sources as being the inventor of the

hot dog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...

Biography

Stevens was born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, England, in 1855 and had connections to

Litchurch Litchurch is a historical area in the city of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. From Medieval times it was a rural Township (England), township associated with Derby but outside the borough , burgh boundary, before experiencing rapid urbanisation an ...

there. He emigrated to

Niles, Ohio Niles is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 18,443 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Mahoning River and Mosquito Creek Lake, Mosquito Creek, Niles is a suburb in the Ma ...

, in the United States in 1882. He was first employed as an

ironworker An ironworker is a tradesman who works in the iron-working industry. Ironworkers assemble the structural framework in accordance with engineered drawings and install the metal support pieces for new buildings. They also repair and renovate o ...

, then as a traveling book salesman. In the late 1880s, Stevens traveled to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, and attended a baseball game. 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. He sold his scorecards to fans using the phrase "You can't tell the players without a scorecard." Over time, he expanded to

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, 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 John Montgomery Ward (March 3, 1860 – March 4, 1925), also known as Monte Ward, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher, shortstop, second baseman, third baseman, manager, executive, union organizer, owner and author. Ward, of English des ...

, then-manager of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. 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, there was limited demand for ice cream so he decided to sell German "

dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: 'badger dog'), also known as the wiener dog or sausage dog, badger dog, doxen and doxie, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, with varie ...

sausages", having his staff place them in bread rolls and sell them as "red hots". Newspaper cartoonist

Tad Dorgan Thomas Aloysius "Tad" Dorgan (April 29, 1877 – May 2, 1929) was an Irish American cartoonist. He is known for his cartoon panel ''Indoor Sports'' and comic strip '' Judge Rummy'', as well as the many English words and expressions he coined or ...

, reportedly recounting the event, was said to have been unable to spell dachshund, so wrote "

s" instead. This account has been disputed by researchers, who point out the earliest known hot-dog cartoon by Dorgan dates to 1906, and "the term 'hot dog' was used for sausages in buns as early as 1895 in college newspapers." Stevens died in May 1934 in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

following two bouts of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

; he was survived by his wife and five children. Harry M. Stevens Inc. was acquired by

Aramark Aramark is an American Foodservice, food service and Facility management, facilities services provider to clients in areas including education, prisons, healthcare, business, and leisure. It operates in North America (United States and Canada) a ...

on December 12, 1994.

Memorials

Stevens Park in Niles, Ohio, which opened in 1936, was named in his honor after his family donated its to the city. In 2013, the community began an annual "Harry Stevens Hot Dog Day". The event includes entertainment, a dachshund race, and a hot dog

eating contest Competitive eating, or speed eating, is a sport in which participants compete against each other to eat large quantities of food, usually in a short time period. Contests are typically eight to ten minutes long, although some competitions can l ...

. In early 2013, Derby City Council and Derby Civic Society jointly announced they would erect a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

(historical marker) to his memory on his first marital home at 21 Russell Street in Derby, England.

Notes

Sources

* Rippon, Nicola, ''Derbyshire's Own'', The History Press, 2006, .

Biography

Memorials

Notes

Sources

References

Further reading