The BIG Apple

In this episode, The BIG Apple . . .

Have you ever wondered how New York City got the name The BIG Apple? What follows is consolidated from Wikipedia & the Interesting Facts e-newsletter.

Before it was referred to as The City That Never Sleeps, the term "Big Apple" was an expression that meant a big deal, an object of great desire, or big dreams.

The first time New York City was referred to as the "big apple" in print may have been in 1909 when American journalist Edward S. Martin wrote in his book The Wayfarer in New York that those in the Midwest (Kansas) are "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." - However, the phrase doesn't seem to have been intended as a nickname, especially since the name was not capitalized.

A horse-racing column published by the New York Morning Telegraph in the 1920s popularized the term: "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," racing journalist John J. Fitz Gerald wrote in a 1924 column eventually named "Around the Big Apple.”

Legend has it Fitz Gerald first heard the term from two stable hands in New Orleans. As etymologist Michael Quinion explains, "the Big Apple was the New York racetracks; the goal of every aspiring jockey and trainer for those New Orleans stable hands, the New York racing scene was a supreme opportunity, like an attractive “big red apple.”

Jazz musicians during the 1920s & 30s also contributed to the use of the phrase as they referred to New York City, specifically to the city and Harlem as the world's jazz capital. Besides song and dance, two nightclubs in the city used "Big Apple" in their names.

Then in the 1970s, the president of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, Charles Gillett, began a tourism campaign around the slogan designed to counter New York's rising crime rates and a bad reputation.

Today attendees to Citi field, the New York Mets National League ballpark, are reminded that New York is The BIG Apple. Every time a Mets player hits a home run – a large red apple (Home Run Apple) rises from behind the outfield wall to mark the accomplishment. It has become a symbol of Mets baseball, recognized throughout Major League Baseball as an iconic feature of Mets' stadiums. The apple first appeared in Shea Stadium in 1980; it was 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall and is still on display at Citi Field outside the Jackie Robinson Rotunda.

Citi Field now uses a new apple. The replacement is 18 feet (5.5 meters) tall and 16 feet (4.9 meters) wide. So, for Mets fans, it's still a big deal, an object of great desire, and a heroic display of big dreams.

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening; see you in the next episode.

Comments

Night Before Christmas

I n this episode, Night Before Christmas . . . (In the spirit of Edgar Albert Guest) I’ve wrestled with the tangled lights the way I always do— With just enough patience left to see the project through. I climb the ladder carefully; the years have taught me how. To take my time with every step and keep a steady brow. We hang the faded ornaments I’ve known since I was small, the chipped, the cracked, the tilted ones—I love them best of all. Santa’s lost a bit of paint, the stars’ leaning right, but oh, it casts a holy glow across the room tonight. The kitchen hums with activity, with laughter, and with cheer, as voices drift like echoes from a long-forgotten year. The floor is strewn with paper scraps, the clock is ticking slow, As Christmas finds its own sweet pace and sets our house aglow. The hallway grows a little still; the lights are dimmed, and low, Small shoes are lined in messy pairs to wait for morning’s snow. The fire's warm, the room is full, the world is deep and wide,...

Un-Work the Old-Fashioned Way

🎩 In this special episode. How to Un-Work the Old-Fashioned Way It’s 2026! Yes— this is the year! A different kind of start—you feel it right here? No lists! No demands! No fix-all-your-flaws! No “New You by Tuesday!” No rules! No laws! Those resolutions? Bah! Dusty and dry! We’ve tried fixing everything —so let’s ask why. Why rush and correct and improve and compare, When noticing quietly gets you right there ? So here’s a new project—no charts, no clocks, No boxes to check in your mental inbox. It’s bigger than busy and smaller than grand, It’s called Un-Working —now give me your hand! Un-Working’s not quitting or hiding away, It’s setting things down that shout “Hurry! Hey!” The hustle! The bustle! The faster-than-fast! The gotta-win-now or you’re stuck in the past! That’s the work of Un-Working— plop! —set it free! The titles! The labels! The “Look-At-Me!” The crown that kept sliding and pinching your head— You never looked comfy . . . let’s try this instead: Pick up a tel...

How to Catch A Reindeer–Christmas 2025

🎧 In this episode, How to Catch A Reindeer Merry Christmas, everyone — and welcome to this year's special holiday edition of On the Fly! Since 2020, Lori and I have been happily creating a special Christmas gift for our nephews, nieces, and close friends: a children's story recorded in our voices, filled with delightful sound effects, music, and just the right touch of seasonal magic to make Santa smile. It's become one of our most cherished traditions — and honestly, it's way easier than trying to wrap a real reindeer! Over the years, we've shared some favorite classics: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, The Night Before Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Santa's Toy Shop. (We've created our own North Pole audiobook library.) This year, we're excited to introduce a new book: How to Catch a Reindeer by Alice Walstead. And let me tell you — this one is a ride. It's a high-flying, whimsical Christmas Eve chase starrin...

Stamps and Snow

In this episode, Stamps and Snow . . . You don’t usually walk into the local Post Office expecting a time warp . . . but here we are. All we wanted were stamps for this year's Christmas cards— yes, the old-fashioned paper ones that require licking, sticking, and hoping the Postal Service is feeling ambitious this week. But holiday errands have a talent for slowing you down, almost like the universe whispering, “Relax. You’re not getting out of this line any faster anyway.” So we waited. And while we waited, we talked (Are you surprised?). Because the Post Office is one of the few places where people still look up from their phones long enough to talk . . . Maybe it's because they're holding packages. It’s the modern town square: part civic duty, part free entertainment, part sociology experiment. The discussion began with holiday specials streaming on Netflix, Paramount+, and other services during this time of year. One gentleman who has lived in Vista since 1958 told us,...

On The Fly

Search This Blog