Harry Stevens Biography

Harry Stevens

Having emigrated to Ohio in 1882, he quickly established himself in the business of providing food to sports fans and conventioneers. In 1887 he won a concession at a baseball park, and by the turn of the century had begun selling hot dogs in rolls at the New York Polo Grounds. He was responsible for replacing the traditional ice cream and lemonade concessions with franks, peanuts, and soda. The business was left to his son, Frank M. Stevens (1880–1965), under whose direction it continued to grow.