Why is New York called The Big Apple ?

Three Versions as to Why

There have been many ideas about how New York came to be called “The Big Apple.”
1) Some say it comes from the former well-to-do families that sold apples on New York City streets to make ends meet during the Great Depression.
2) Another account says that the term comes from a famous nineteenth century brothel madam named Eve whose girls were cheekily referred to as her “Big Apples.”
3) But the nickname actually springs from a catchphrase used in the 1920s by New York Morning Telegraph sports writer John J. Fitz Gerald in his horse racing column, “Around the Big Apple.” Starting on February 18, 1924, he began the every column with the header, “The Big Apple. The dream of every lad ad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There's only one Big Apple. That's New York.”

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