The History of the Hot Dog
There is a good deal of disagreement regarding the origin of the Hot Dog.
People in Frankfurtum-Main, Germany claim they discovered the Hot Dog in
1487. Others argue, the Sausage sometimes called the Dachsund for it's
shape was created in the late 1600's by Johann Georghehner, a butcher from
Coburg who is said to have traveled to Frankfurt to promote his product.
Others in Vienna, (Wien) Austria claim originating the Hot Dog as they
point to the name Wiener as evidence of the Hot Dog's true heritage. In
any case it is known that Charles Feltman, a German Butcher opened up the
first Coney Island Hot Dog stand in 1871. He sold 3,684 Dachsunds in his
first year. In 1893 Chris Ahe, the owner of the St. Louis browns started
selling Hot Dogs at the Ballpark. In 1901 the phrase Hot Dog was coined.
On a cold April day Concessionaire Harry Stevens was losing money, selling
Ice Cream and soda. He ordered his salesmen to buy all the long skinny
sausages they could find and sell them from portable Hot Water tanks while
shouting get your Red Hot Dachsund sausages while they last. Sports Cartoonist
Ted Dorgan could not spell Dachsund so he used the term Hot Dog instead
in his strip. Hence the name stuck and is the term we still use today.
In 14 the idea of the Hot Dog bun was born. Anton Feuchtwanger would loan
his patrons gloves to handle the Hot little items. When he realized that
his customers were little inclined to return the gloves he got together
with his Brother in Law, a baker, and hence the concept of the Hot Dog
Bun was born. In 1936, Oscar Mayer rolled out the first portable Hot Dog
cart, they called it the Wienermobile and the rest as they say is history.
Here's
Little Oscar and his Weinermobile