Derby, England celebrates "hot dog inventor" Harry Stevens (July 2006)

Sat May 6 19:48:18 UTC 2006

Harry Stevens sold a lot of hot dogs, but he didn't coin the word "hot dog" and he didn't invent the "hot dog."
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This never ends. Just checking stuff before I leave the country tomorrow with my wife.
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"Visit Britain" repeats this? Bloody awful!
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http://www.visitbritain.com/corporate/presscentre/presscentrebritain/britaincalling/April2006/AccommodationandDining/derbyremembers.aspx
DERBY REMEMBERS HOT DOG INVENTOR
April 2006
An English town is marking the 150th anniversary of the inventor of the hot dog. Harry M. Stevens, born in Derby in 1856, was a humble caterer who emigrated to the USA in the 1880s. With his vendors at a baseball game at New York City’s Polo Ground in 1901, he sold hot ‘dachshund’ sausages in rolls – a snack later abbreviated by newspaper cartoonist Tad Dorgan to “hot dog”. The drawing became famous, as did the hot dog’s association with baseball.
In honour of Stevens, Derby, 132 miles north of London, will launch a Sausage and Ale Trail, leading visitors to places selling some of the best sausages and real ale – including butchers, farmers markets and micro-breweries. The trail is planned to launch at the Derbyshire Food and Drink Fair (May 20-21) and will feature at Derby Beer Festival (July 5-9). Baseball legend Babe Ruth is said to have called Derby’s hot dog man “my second dad.” Website: www.visitderby.co.uk
Press contact: Michelle Booth at Derby Tourism (Tel: 01332 256201, e-mail: michelle.booth at derby.gov.uk).
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http://www.visitbritain.com/VB3-en-US/corporate/press/britain_calling/0604hot_dogs.aspx
Harry’s Game - Derby prepares to commemorate the 'inventor' of the hot dog
Which Englishman has made the greatest impact on the United States of America? Let’s hear it for Harry M. Stevens, eldest son of James Stevens, a blue-collar worker with the Midland Railway Locomotive in Derby!
The 150th anniversary of Harry’s birth, in 1856, is a timely reminder of his influence on popular American culture. Not to mention, an opportunity to once again pay tribute to the man who allegedly "invented" the hot dog – the world’s most popular fast food boasting historical links to Presidents, the British Royal Family, Hollywood stars and most of all, the sport of baseball. Even the legendary Babe Ruth was proud to call the man from Derby: "My second dad".
Credited, also, with designing the baseball scorecard still used to this day, and with pioneering the drinking of soda through a straw, Harry’s major claim to fame is nevertheless the way in which his name is now synonymous with the hot dog.
Born in Derby 150 years ago, Harry became a caterer in his hometown – supplying, amongst others, Normanton Barracks with milk - before immigrating with his family to Ohio in the 1880s. The entrepreneurial flair, which he put to such great effect later in life, led him to believe that he could make money from catering at large sporting events in the United States.
His early visits to baseball grounds, however, ended in personal frustration at being unable to identify visiting players, or to keep up with the action. As a result, he devised a scorecard, which could be used by the fans, and he also left space on them for advertisements. An instant success, Stevens’ scorecards have altered little to this day.
But the most popular story concerning Harry Stevens relates to a chilly April day at New York City’s Polo Ground, in 1901. By now, Stevens had the catering concession for major league baseball games, but was losing money trying to sell ice cream and cold soda. He sent out his salesmen to buy up all of the ‘dachshund’ sausages they could find, along with rolls to put them in, and encouraged his vendors to go round the ground shouting "They’re red hot. Get your dachshund sausages here".
The story continues that newspaper cartoonist Tad Dorgan, short on ideas and working to a tight deadline, drew inspiration from what he saw and drew a barking dachshund sausage nestling in a roll. Not sure how to spell "dachshund", he scrawled the words "hot dog" on his cartoon instead. The drawing became famous. So did the hot dog’s connection with baseball. And another American icon was born.
Academic and historic research may have subsequently proven that others before Stevens – from the 1st Century AD, through to vendors outside student dorms in the 1890s – had been eating, and selling, sausages in bread and buns long before Stevens’ invention. But none remain as deeply entrenched in American culture as the Derbeian’s dachshund.
And Derby itself – which is associated with the world’s first factory, some of the finest works of art in the world, a major role in the industrial revolution, the first Astronomer Royal, and the Rolls Royce engine – is rightfully proud of its links with the man whose hot dog business became a household name in America.
So whatever became of that humble snack? Millions, if not billions, later, the hot dog is still going strong, and is forever linked to both the sport of baseball and American popular culture as a whole.
It is said Babe Ruth once downed 24 of them between back-to-back games, that movie actress Marlene Dietrich described hot dogs and champagne as her favorite meal, and that Franklin D Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor thought long and hard before deciding to include hot dogs on the menu when King George VI visited New York in June 1939.
Following Harry’s death in May 1934, generations of the Stevens family maintained his traditions and developed the Harry M Stevens business into a catering giant.
In 1996, Harry’s name was once again back in the headlines, when 166 items of his baseball memorabilia were auctioned off for $385,000 in New York City. A photograph of Babe Ruth hitting his 60th home run inscribed "To my second dad Harry M Stevens from Babe Ruth December 25th 1927", was bought by a Cincinnati collector Steve Walter for $22,000.
The railroad worker's son, who took the fast track to fame and fortune in America, will be remembered in a number of ways in Derby during the 150th anniversary of his birth.
His home-town, for example, will be producing a new and timely 'Derby Sausage and Ale Trail', leading visitors on a tour of some of the most mouth-watering bangers (Sausages) and beer in Britain. Quality butchers, market traders participants at the city's popular Farmer's Markets, and real ale pubs will all be highlighted on the trail which, as well as commemorating Stevens, will also tie-in with a county-wide campaign to highlight some of Derbyshire's very best locally produced food and drink.
In addition, Derby Tourism is also planning to add some UK 'relish' to the United States' National Hotdog Day, on July 21st.
Website: www.visitderby.co.uk.
Press contact: Ian Weightman, tel. (011 44) 178 268 0963; e-mail: ian.iwms at virgin.net.
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HONG KONG - A dead man was paid a disability allowance for 15 years in Hong Kong... 
462 words
1 March 2006
The Daily Post (New Zealand)
A06
LONDON - A ``bangers and beer'' event is to be held to commemorate the 150th birthday of an Englishman who invented the hot dog. 
Caterer Harry Stevens emigrated to the US in the 1880s and introduced the hot dog at a baseball game in 1901. 
The son of a Derby railman, Stevens had been losing money on his catering concession at baseball games until deciding to put ``dachshund'' sausages in rolls. 
A cartoonist depicting the event was unsure how to spell dachshund and used the words ``hot dog'' instead.     
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News
DOGGONE IT 
By PAUL COLE Travel Editor 
714 words
26 February 2006
Sunday Mercury
24
English
(c) 2006 Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd
Americans owe their famous hot dog to Midland milkman 
AMERICA'S best-kept secret is out. The hot dog was invented not by a New Yorker but by ... a milkman from the Midlands. 
New research reveals that Harry M Stevens came up with the snack that has become a byword for all things American. 
The hot dog is up there with bagels and burgers, Uncle Sam and Mickey Mouse as the very essence of the good ol' U S of A. 
But the Yanks owe it all to Harry, who was born 150 years ago in Derby, where he delivered milk for a living. 
Archivists in the town are so convinced their records are right that they're preparing to celebrate the anniversary with a series of events - and even plan to add Midland relish to America's National Hotdog Day on July 21. 
What's more, Harry invented the baseball scoring cards still used to this day in the States, and there's a suggestion that he was also the first man to drink fizzy pop through a straw. 
"Everyone assumes that the hot dog was invented by an American," said Marion Nixon, the woman in charge of promoting Derby as a tourist destination. 
"But that's not the case at all. 
"Harry has probably made more of an impact on the United States than any other Englishman, but he's been an unsung hero whose Midland roots have never been properly appreciated." 
Family tree records show that Harry, born in 1856, was the eldest son of James Stevens, a foreman on Midland Railway Locomotive in Derby. 
He grew up to become a caterer in his hometown supplying, amongst others, Normanton Barracks with milk. 
Those who knew him said he had a knack of inventing things. In the 1880s, Harry and his family upped sticks and emigrated to Ohio, where he realised there was money to be made from catering at large sporting events in the US. 
"Hot dogs were the result of a chilly April day at New York City's Polo Ground in 1901," said tourism chief Marion. 
"By now, Harry already had the catering concession for major league baseball games - but he was losing money trying to sell ice cream and cold soda. Nobody wanted them. 
"Wanting something to warm the fans up, he sent out his salesmen to buy up all of the 'dachshund' sausages they could find, along with rolls to put them in. 
"Then he got his vendors to go round the ground shouting: 'They're red hot. Get your hot dachshund sausages while they're red hot!' 
"A newspaper cartoonist named Tad Dorgan - short on ideas and working to a tight deadline - spotted the snack and drew a barking dachshund sausage nestling in a roll. 
"Not sure how to spell dachshund, he scrawled the words 'hot dog' on his cartoon instead. The drawing became famous - and another American icon was born!" 
Historians believe that sausages had been eaten in bread for centuries but the Derby milkman was first to put frankfurters in a roll and sell them as the famous hot dogs. 
Following Harry's death in May 1934, generations of the Stevens family maintained his traditions and developed the Harry M Stevens business into a catering giant. 
In 1996, Harry's name was back in the headlines, when 166 items of his baseball memorabilia were auctioned off in New York. 
They included a photograph of Babe Ruth hitting his 60th home run, inscribed "To my second dad Harry M Stevens from Babe Ruth, December 25th 1927", which sold for £10,000. 
But the nostalgic lot that grabbed all the attention was a 1940's stadium hot dog vendor's fitted wicker basket, which fetched £5,000 - Harry Stevens would have been proud. 
To mark the 150th birthday of the hot dog pioneer, Derby plans a Sausage and Ale Trail leading visitors on a tour of some of the most mouth-watering bangers and beer in Britain. 
And they'll be singing the praises of the town's culinary hero when they set up stall at the British Travel Trade Fair, which runs at Birmingham's NEC on March 1 and 2. 
paul_cole at mrn.co.uk 
Document SUNMER0020060226e22q00057 
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Bangers and beer to mark hot dog king 
252 words
27 February 2006
Derby Evening Telegraph
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3
English
(c) 2006 Evening Telegraph
A bangers and beer event is to be held to commemorate the 150th birthday of a Derby man who invented the hot dog. 
Caterer Harry Stevens emigrated to the US in the 1880s and introduced the snack, which became synonymous with America in 1901. 
This summer, a Derby Sausage and Ale Trail will be launched during the CAMRA Beer Festival, at the Assembly Rooms on July 5-9. 
The Hot Dog King, as Stevens became known, was born in 1855 and spent his childhood at Litchurch, in Derby. 
By the age of 21, he was married to a local girl, Mary Wragg. The couple made their home in Russell Street and had three children. 
Stevens set up shop as a greengrocer and supplied the newly- opened Normanton Barracks, then home to the 95th Derbyshire and 54th West Norfolk Regiments, with milk. Then, in 1882, he moved his family to the US. 
While selling refreshments at the New York Giants' baseball games he took a heated frankfurter sausage and stuck it in a bread roll with a dollop of mustard. 
The innovative snack proved a hit and when cartoonist Thomas Dorgan called it a 'hot dog' in a famous cartoon, the name stuck. 

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