NATIONAL EAT A HOAGIE DAY – September 14, 2024

History of NATIONAL EAT A HOAGIE DAY

Though it remains a mystery how National Eat A Hoagie Day came into being, the history of hoagies dates back to World War I. However, there are controversies about where it first originated. According to a 1953 article in the Philadelphia Bulletin, credit goes to an Italian luncheon created by Al DePalma and located in Philadelphia. The sandwiches made by the luncheon were famous during the World War I era among the Italian immigrants who worked at the Hog Island Shipyard in Delaware, from which the original name, “hoggies” was derived. In fact, it is rumored that Al DePalma became known as “King of the Hoggies.”

However, another school of thought argues that hoagies originated in another restaurant called Emil’s, located in Chester. Yet another story claims that these sandwiches were donated by deli owners in south Philadelphia to the less fortunate. The name “hoagie” is said to have been coined from the phrase, “on the hoke,” which means “to scrounge,” a term associated with the destitute. The name “hoggie” is also claimed to be a play on the word, “hog” because the sandwiches were so large that those eating them looked like hogs! Their words, not ours.

Whatever its true origins are, we’d like to say a big thank you to whoever thought of it first!

Hoagies are known by a variety of names, such as hero, torpedo, garibaldi, bomber, rocket, torta, poor boy, po’boy, grinder, Cuban sandwich, ‘musalatta,’ or Italian sandwich.