New York City's Nickname: Never "The Big Orange," Always "The Big Apple"

New York City was never nicknamed "The Big Orange." The iconic moniker is **"The Big Apple."**

Origin of "The Big Apple"

• 1920s: **John J. FitzGerald**, *NY Morning Telegraph* turf writer, heard Black stablehands in New Orleans refer to NYC racetracks as "the big apple" (the big prize/payoff).
• 1930s: Jazz musicians adopted it – "There are many apples on the tree, but only one Big Apple."
• 1971: **Charles Gillett** (NYC Convention & Visitors Bureau) launched official "Big Apple" tourism campaign (red apple logo) to counter 1970s crime/grime image.

Other Historic Nicknames

• **Gotham** (Washington Irving, 1807 – from English folk tale).
• **Empire City** (19th c. commercial pride).
• **The City That Never Sleeps** (Frank Sinatra / *New York, New York*).
• **Metropolis** (Superman comics / generic).

No credible historical source records "The Big Orange" for NYC. (Florida / California citrus marketing used orange imagery.)