The Hoagie Became The “Official Sandwich of Philadelphia” In 1992

National Eat a Hoagie Day on September 14th promotes a sandwich which is also known as a grinder, sub or hero. You can also order a po’boy, torpedo or an Italian sandwich to celebrate!

• 1762 – The Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, asks for roast beef to be served between two slices of bread so he won’t have to get up from his work (or from gambling, depending on how the story goes)
• 1901 – A small Italian grocer in New Jersey sells sandwiches on long bread that he will eventually name “submarine” sandwiches because of the shape.
• 1906 – Muffuletta, or Muffaletta, is a hero or submarine-type sandwich that originated in New Orleans in 1906, probably at Salvatore Lupa’s Central Grocery.
• 1914 – The most widely accepted story of hoagie’s origin centers on Hog Island, an area of Philadelphia that was home to a shipyard during World War I (1914-1918). The site of the Philadelphia Navy Yard was once known as Hog Island
• 1914 – Another story from the Philadelphia area takes place during World War I. It describes shipyard workers bringing large Italian sandwiches to work wrapped in newspaper. The workers nicknamed the massive sandwiches “hoggies” because anyone eating them at one sitting would have to be a hog.
• 1923 – The epicenter of the controversy seems to be eastern Pennsylvania between the DiCostanzas and DePalmas. Both lay claim to being the first to make the hoagie. One family claims to have been making the sandwich since 1923 and the other since 1925.
• 1929 – The Po’ Boy was born in New Orleans at the Martin Brothers Coffee Stand and Restaurant, where they began giving sandwiches to striking streetcar workers (poor boys) free of charge.
• 1930s – During the late 1930s, DePalma joined forces with Buccelli’s Bakery and developed the perfect hoagie roll (an eight-inch roll that became the standard for the modern-day hoagie).
• 1936 – Common lore credits Clementine Paddleworth with coining the term hero in a food column for the New York Herald Tribune in 1936. Saying the sandwich was so large, “you had to be a hero to eat it.”
• 1953 – Workers at the Hog Island shipyard introduce the Italian sandwich on a long roll as a lunch box staple and the sandwich becomes known as a “hoggie.”
• 1955 – With its growing popularity, restaurants in Philly begin to list hoagie sandwiches on their menus and it spread from there.
• 1960 – The hoagie’s popularity spreads beyond the City of Brotherly Love to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and other cities, beginning in the mid-Atlantic region.
• 1965 – Philadelphia area restaurants begin to add hoagie sandwiches to their menus.
• 1964 – In Hoboken, NJ, where subs are called blimpies, the first Blimpie sub shop opened. The stores were originally called Blimpie Bases, alluding to the sandwiches’ resemblance to a blimp.
• 1964 – The first WaWa Food Store opens in Folsom, Pennsylvania, with hoagies on the menu.
• 1965 – The first Subway sandwich shop opened. The company’s history page states that the chain’s founder, Fred DeLuca, opened the sandwich shop to help pay for medical school.
• 1992 – Former Philadelphia mayor (also once Pennsylvania governor) Ed Rendell declared the hoagie the “Official Sandwich of Philadelphia”
• The Philadelphia accent explains the transformation of the word. The dialect often exaggerates the vowel sounds, changing “hoggies” to “hoagies” quite easily.
• Some refer to a hoagie as a submarine or sub, grinder, poor boy, or hero. It is believed that the submarine sandwich, also commonly known as the sub, originated in Connecticut, where the naval submarine base is located.
• The grinder, on the other hand, is commonly associated with the New England region, excluding Boston, where it is less common. One region of Pennsylvania even calls the sandwich a zeppelin.
• In Westchester, NY and Fairfield, CT hoagies are known as wedges.
• Many takeout shops in Chicago sell a “hoagy” (sic.), usually containing steak and other ingredients, with the option of being “heated.” They also sell cheesesteaks, often referred to as “Philly Steak.”
• Wawa sells 83 million hoagies each year. Enough to stretch 10.5 times from WAWA HQ in Pennsylvania to Miami.
• Americans eat more than 300 million sandwiches each year, many of which would classify as hoagies!
• Premium hoagies can be made with upscale ingredients, such as imported Italian lunch meats, prosciutto, gourmet cheeses and more.
• One of the biggest mysteries that seems to surround hoagies is the questions about what makes them different from other sandwiches like subs, heroes and grinders. But honestly, there isn’t much of a difference and they are basically the same sandwich just going by a different name.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Foodimentary

PaBook Libraries

Mamiverse

Philly Mag

National Today

Das of the Year