Big Apple - wikipedia Big Apple For other uses, see Big Apple ( disambiguation ). This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. ( Learn how and when to remove these template messages ) This article 's lead section contains information that is not included elsewhere in the article. If the information is appropriate for the lead of the article, this information should also be included in the body of the article. ( May 2017 ) This section may contain indiscriminate, excessive, or irrelevant examples. Please improve the article by adding more descriptive text and removing less pertinent examples. See Wikipedia 's guide to writing better articles for further suggestions. ( May 2017 ) This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. ( May 2017 ) Some of this article 's listed sources may not be reliable. Please help this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted. ( May 2017 ) `` Big Apple Corner '' at 54th Street and Broadway, in Manhattan 's Theater District `` Big Apple '' is a nickname for New York City. It was first popularized in the 1920s by John J. Fitz Gerald, a sports writer for the New York Morning Telegraph. Its popularity since the 1970s is due in part to a promotional campaign by the New York tourist authorities. Contents 1 Origin of the name 2 Racing context 3 Popularity 4 In popular culture 5 References 6 External links Origin of the name Although the history of Big Apple was once thought a mystery, a clearer picture of the term 's history has emerged due to the work of amateur etymologist Barry Popik, and Gerald Cohen of Missouri University of Science and Technology. A number of false theories had previously existed, including a claim that the term derived from a woman named Eve who ran a brothel in the city. This was subsequently exposed as a hoax. The earliest known usage of ' big apple ' appears in the book The Wayfarer in New York ( 1909 ), in which author Edward S. Martin writes : Kansas is apt to see in New York a greedy city... It inclines to think that the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap. William Safire considered this the coinage, but the Random House Dictionary of American Slang has described the usage as `` metaphorical or perhaps proverbial, rather than a concrete example of the later slang term ''. Racing context This section relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. ( May 2016 ) The Big Apple was popularized as a name for New York City by John J. Fitz Gerald in a number of horse - racing articles for the New York Morning Telegraph in the 1920s. The earliest of these was a casual reference on 3rd May, 1921 : J.P. Smith, with Tippity Witchet and others of the L.T. Bauer string, is scheduled to start for `` the big apple '' to - morrow after a most prosperous Spring campaign at Bowie and Havre de Grace. Fitz Gerald referred to the `` big apple '' frequently thereafter. He explained his use in a column dated February 18, 1924, under the headline `` Around the Big Apple '' : The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There 's only one Big Apple. That 's New York. Fitz Gerald 's reference to `` dusky '' stable hands suggests the term 's origin may lie in African - American culture. Evidence for this may be found in the Chicago Defender, an African - American newspaper that had a national circulation. Writing for the Defender on September 16, 1922, `` Ragtime '' Billy Tucker used the name `` big apple '' to refer to New York in a non-horse - racing context : I trust your trip to ' the big apple ' ( New York ) was a huge success and only wish that I had been able to make it with you. Tucker had also earlier used `` big apple '' as a reference to Los Angeles. It is possible that he simply understood `` big apple '' as a nickname for any large city : Dear Pal, Tony : No, Ragtime Billy Tucker has n't dropped completely out of existence, but is still in the ' Big Apple ', Los Angeles. Popularity The New York Mets Home Run Apple located in Citi Field. By the late 1920s, New York writers other than Fitz Gerald were starting to use `` Big Apple '' and were using it in contexts other than horse - racing. `` The Big Apple '' was a popular song and dance in the 1930s. Walter Winchell and other writers continued to use the term in the 1940s and 1950s, but by the 1960s it had generally come to be known as an old name for New York. In the early 1970s, however, the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau ( now NYC & Company, New York City 's official marketing and tourism organization ) began to promote the city 's `` Big Apple '' nickname under the leadership of its president, Charles Gillett. It has remained popular since then. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in 1997 signed legislation designating as `` Big Apple Corner '' the southwest corner of West 54th Street and Broadway, the corner on which John J. Fitz Gerald lived from 1934 to 1963. As part of the celebrations following as his election as President of the United States in 2016, Donald Trump hosted a party which he named ' The Big Apple Ball ' and which featured themed decorations and cut - outs of New York landmarks in honor of his home city. Today the name enjoys exclusive ubiquity in literature and speech referring to New York City, and is used with regularity by journalists and news - headline writers across the English - speaking world. In popular culture The term `` big apple '' was used by Frank Sinatra in conversation with opera singer Dorothy Kirsten on an episode of the NBC radio program Light Up Time on March 28, 1950. In Evita, Buenos Aires is referred to as `` B.A., Buenos Aires, Big Apple '' in the song Eva, Beware of the City. This line, produced by lyricist Tim Rice, does not appear to reflect any pre-existing usage. The New York Mets baseball team have featured a `` Home Run Apple '' that rises whenever a Mets player hits a home run. It has become a symbol of the Mets baseball team, recognized throughout Major League Baseball as an iconic feature of the Mets ' stadiums. It first appeared in Shea Stadium, and the original can still be seen on display at Citi Field, outside the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Citi Field now uses a new apple, one that is much larger than original. Uses of the term abound elsewhere in the names of cultural products and events in or concerning New York, including the Big Apple Anime Fest, the Big Apple Theater Festival, Jess Teong 's The Kid from the Big Apple and Kajagoogoo 's Big Apple, and playful uses of the nickname have been seen, such as Patrick Downey 's 2008 historical study of New York City 's criminal underworld, entitled Bad Seeds in the Big Apple. References Jump up ^ Why is New York called the Big Apple ?, The Straight Dope February 18, 1977 Jump up ^ The Big Apple. Research by Barry Popik and others with the text of contemporary examples. Jump up ^ Gerald Cohen, Origin of New York City 's Nickname `` The Big Apple '' ( 1991 ), ISBN 3 - 631 - 43787 - 0 Jump up ^ False Etymologies Jump up ^ Why Is New York City Called `` The Big Apple '' ? Wayback Machine archive of earlier version of web page. Jump up ^ Big Apple Whore Hoax ( 1800s ! ) Jump up ^ Salwen, Peter. `` Why Is New York City Called `` The Big Apple '' ? ``. Jump up ^ Safire, William ( September 17, 2000 ), `` Big Applesource '', The New York Times Magazine Jump up ^ Safire, William ( 2004 ), The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time, p. p. 23 Jump up ^ First `` Big Apple '' : May 3, 1921. Jump up ^ Numerous 1920s `` Big Apple '' citations in the New York Morning Telegraph. Jump up ^ First `` Big Apple '' explanation : February 18, 1924. See also the original article image. ^ Jump up to : `` Big Apple '' antedating Archived February 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. ; 1920s Vaudeville / Ragtime `` Big Apple '' Citations. Jump up ^ 1920s Non-Horseracing `` Big Apple '' Citations. Jump up ^ `` Big Apple '' song by Bob Emmerich. Jump up ^ `` Big Apple '' in the 1930s ( Two clubs, plus song and dance ). Jump up ^ The dance was mentioned by name by Mickey Rooney in the 1938 movie `` Love Finds Andy Hardy '' Jump up ^ `` Big Apple '' in the 1940s - 1950s Jump up ^ Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse - Five 265 ( 1969 ; Delta Trade Paperbacks ed. 1999 ) ( `` That 's what they used to call New York '' ). Jump up ^ About NYC and Company. Jump up ^ Big Apple 1970s Revival : Charlie Gillett and Lew Rudin. Jump up ^ `` Words and Their Stories : Nicknames for New York City ''. Voice of America. February 23, 2010. Archived from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2010. Jump up ^ Mayor 's Press Office, Release No. 082 - 97, Mayor Giuliani Signs Legislation Creating `` Big Apple Corner '' in Manhattan ( Feb. 12, 1997 ). Jump up ^ `` Donald Trump to hold an NYC - themed inauguration party dubbed the ' Big Apple Ball ' ''. www.nydailynews.com. New York Daily News. January 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Malcolm Turnbull 's big day out in the Big Apple ahead of Donald Trump meeting ''. www.smh.com.au. The Sydney Morning Herald. May 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Big Apple picnics : Enjoy New York like a local ''. www.usatoday.com. USA Today. April 28, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Taking a bite out of the Big Apple ''. www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk. Manchester Evening News. May 1, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Big Apple benefits from falling overseas interest in London commercial real estate ''. www.scmp.com. South China Morning Post. August 4, 2016. Jump up ^ `` big apple and frank sinatra - Google Scholar ''. scholar.google.com. Retrieved March 8, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Official New York Mets Site ''. Jump up ^ `` Official Major League Baseball Site ''. Jump up ^ `` A new Home Run Apple grows at Citi Field ''. NY Daily News. Retrieved February 3, 2017. External links Look up Big Apple in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Giuliani creates Big Apple Corner from the February 1997 Archives of the Mayor 's Press Office The Big Apple Research on the term 's history from amateur etymologist Barry Popik Straight Dope article Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Big_Apple&oldid=817955832 '' Categories : Culture of New York City Symbols of New York City Etymologies Slang American slang City nicknames Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Wikipedia introduction cleanup from May 2017 All pages needing cleanup Pages missing lead section Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from May 2017 All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify Articles with too many examples Articles that may contain original research from May 2017 All articles that may contain original research Articles lacking reliable references from May 2017 All articles lacking reliable references Articles with multiple maintenance issues Use mdy dates from December 2017 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2016 Articles needing additional references from May 2016 All articles needing additional references Articles with unsourced statements from December 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara Français 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano ქართული Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk nynorsk Português Русский 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 31 December 2017, at 15 : 54. 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Question: when did they start calling new york the big apple
Answer: the 1920s