From NYCVB News, July 1997

"It's one of the most frequently asked questions at the Bureau's visitor center: Why is New York City called the Big Apple?

Various theories abound, including the most-used one that jazz musicians in the 1930s likened playing New York City to picking the biggest apple off the tree - in other words, hitting the big time.

Barry Popik, however, dug a little deeper, and discovered what looks like the true origin of the nickname.




John J. Fitzgerald, born in 1893, was a horse-racing writer for the Morning Telegraph in the 1920s and was the first to popularize the term "The Big Apple." While on assignment in New Orleans, Fitzgerald overheard stablehands refer to New York City race courses as "The Big Apple."




Fitzgerald loved the term so much that he named his racing column "Around the Big Apple," and the title to the column became synonymous with the New York racing scene.

It was a decade later when jazz musicians picked up "The Big Apple" to refer to New York City (and especially Harlem) as the jazz capital of the world.




In the early 1970s, the name played an important part in reviving the city's tourism industry, thanks to a campaign launched by then president of the NYCVB (Visitors' Bureau) Charles Gillett and the Bureau.

Today, the nickname is known around the world and is synonymous with the cultural and tourist attractions of New York City."