Hot Dog Vendor outside Ebbets Field, 1920

Image Source: George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress.

Image Subject: Hot dog vendors outside Ebbets Field catering to a hungry baseball crowd before a World Series game on October 6, 1920. This was Game 2 of the World Series between the Brooklyn Robins and the Cleveland Indians where the hometown Robins won 3 to 0. The Robins were not so lucky for the rest of the Series, losing to the Indians, 5 games to 2.

Fun Fact: Hot dogs and baseball were closely linked from as early as the late 19th century, as America’s growing urban, working-class adapted the German sausage inside bread to create the utensil-free hot dog. Vendors selling hot dogs outside stadiums were a common sight by the 1910s, reflecting how thoroughly the food had become embedded in the game-day experience.

By 1920, when this photograph was taken outside Ebbets Field, hot dog vendors represented more than simple refreshment. The hot dog symbolized its democratic appeal—affordable, familiar, and shared by fans of all backgrounds. Selling food just beyond the gates also reflects an era before fully centralized concession systems, when independent vendors played a visible role in the social life surrounding the ballpark.

As Humphrey Bogart put it, “A hot dog at the ball park is better than a steak at the Ritz.”

Painting Detail: Printed on 13” x 19” canvas and painted using Schmincke Mussini and Marshall’s oil paints. Finer details were made using Prismacolor pencils.

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