
This commonly asked question got me wondering, why do we call New York City
the Big Apple? While I've seen several apple trees in New York City, I don't particularly recall them as being in notable quantity - there are certainly more pigeons than apples in New York City, but we don't call New York City the "Big Pigeon." As with anything New York, there are many opinions and contradictions.
In the early 1920s, "apple" was used in reference to the many racing courses in and around New York City. Apple referred to the prizes being awarded for the races -- as these were important races, the rewards were substantial.
Based on the research of Barry Popik, the use of "Big Apple" to refer to New York City became clearer. Popik found that a writer for theNew York Morning Telegraph, John Fitzgerald, referred to New York City's races "Around the Big Apple." It is rumored that Fitzgerald got the term from jockeys and trainers in New Orleans who aspired to race on New York City tracks, referring to the "Big Apple."