Why is New York called the “Big Apple”?
In the early 1920s, “apple” was used in reference to the many racing courses in and around New York City. Apple referred to the prizes being awarded for the races — as these were important races, the rewards were substantial. A writer for the New York Morning Telegraph, John Fitzgerald, referred to New York City’s races “Around the Big Apple.” It is rumored that Fitzgerald got the term from jockeys and trainers in New Orleans who aspired to race on New York City tracks, referring to the “Big Apple.” In the late 1920s and early 1930s, New York City’s jazz musicians began referring to New York City as the “Big Apple.” An old saying in show business was “There are many apples on the tree, but only one Big Apple.” New York City being the premier place to perform was referred to as the Big Apple. A 1971 campaign to increase tourism to New York City adopted the Big Apple as an officially recognized reference to New York City. The campaign featured red apples in an effort to lure visitors to
There is no single, authoritative answer as to why New York City is known as The Big Apple. That the term is now widely known may be due to a tourism publicity campaign launched by the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau in 1971. Certainly, the term was used before that. Barry Popik’s home page Barry Popik is recognized as an expert on the origin of the term “Big Apple”. Check out his site!
According Gerald Leonard Cohen’s Origin of New York City’s Nickname The Big Apple’ (New York: Peter Lang, 1991), while “apple” in American slang means “fellow” and “big apple” means “big shot,” the first consistent use of the term to apply to New York City came in the 1920s. John J. Fitz Gerald, a horseracing reporter for the Morning Telegraph, used the term (in columns from 1921-1927) for “New York City racetracks,” and that sense of it the metropolitan thoroughbred racing circuit entered general usage after 1928. Walter Winchell used it in a 1927 column to refer to Broadway (“Broadway is the Big Apple, the Main Stem, the goal of all ambition, the pot of gold at the end of a drab and somewhat colorless rainbow.”). In the 1930s black jazz musicians applied the terms “the apple” or, less often, “the big apple” to Harlem or to the entire city, with overtones, again, of the big time’. In 1937 a dance called “the big apple” was launched in an African-American nightclub called “Fat Sam’s Bi
n the early 1920s, “apple” was used in reference to the many racing courses in and around New York City. Apple referred to the prizes being awarded for the races — as these were important races, the rewards were substantial. Based on the research of Barry Popik, the use of “Big Apple” to refer to New York City became clearer. Popik found that a writer for the New York Morning Telegraph, John Fitzgerald, referred to New York City’s races “Around the Big Apple.” It is rumored that Fitzgerald got the term from jockeys and trainers in New Orleans who aspired to race on New York City tracks, referring to the “Big Apple.” In the late 1920s and early 1930s, New York City’s jazz musicians began referring to New York City as the “Big Apple.” An old saying in show business was “There are many apples on the tree, but only one Big Apple.” New York City being the premier place to perform was referred to as the Big Apple. A 1971 campaign to increase tourism to New York City adopted the Big Apple as
