One person had the idea to put the sausages in bread, and the trend caught on like wildfire.Įven today, the term “hot dog” can also be substituted with “frank,” “sausage” or “wiener.” Again, it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of the term “hot dog.” One popular story that has gained prevalence is that on the New York Polo Grounds during 1901, vendors were abundant selling their frankfurters. Although there are many discrepancies concerning who exactly came up with the idea to put frankfurters in a bun, the generally-held belief is that vendors became upset because the white gloves they provided customers were never returned, so it resulted in a loss of revenue. It was also during this time that the hot dog bun began to circulate. He came from German roots, so naturally, he incorporated delicious frankfurters into baseball games. Louis Browns, a Major League Baseball team at the time. It’s believed the first person to introduce sausages to parks was Chris Von de Ahe, who was the owner of the St. In the 1890s, frankfurters became common cuisine at baseball parks. In order to prevent people’s hands from getting burned, the vendors would provide customers with white gloves to hold the sausages. The sausages were simply given to people as is. One major player in this introduction was Charles Feltman, an immigrant who sold frankfurters on Coney Island beginning in 1870.ĭuring this period of time, the sausages didn’t come with buns. The sausages began growing in prevalence in America because German immigrants would sell the frankfurters from carts. That name comes from the city of Frankfurt, Germany. Specifically, German immigrants brought a precursor to modern hot dogs, which were referred to as frankfurters centuries ago. Like most foods that have become staples of the American diet, the hot dog came to this country via immigrants. However, the roots of the hot dog modern Americans know and love can be traced back to Germany. From there, the story gets a little complicated. There are records of foods similar to a sausage dating back to the 9 th century B.C. Pinpointing the exact origin of the hot dog can be complicated. This begs the question: how did hot dogs come to be associated with American baseball? In fact, in 2014 it was estimated that over 21 million hot dogs were eaten in baseball stadiums across the United States, with over 3 million of those hot dogs being consumed in Dodgers Stadium alone. You really can’t have one without the other, and both are as American as bald eagles and apple pie. Hot dogs are practically synonymous with baseball. Hot Dogs and Baseball: A Match Made in Sports Posted On June 9, 2017