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HMS Inc. was formed by Harry M
Stevens who came to the United States
in 1882. From Beer and Soda to
Champagne, hot dogs to filet mignon,
Harry M Stevens became America's
foremost ballpark concessionaire.
"Caterers To The Sporting World" and
serving sports venues racetracks, and
stadiums across the country. Harry M.
Steven is noted for inventing the
scorecard and Hot Dog. In 1885 Stevens
found himself without a job, as a
result of a strike at a steel mill. He
became a book salesman, and bored with
his job, he decided to go the a ball
game in Columbus, Ohio.
After discovering there was no way of identifying the players who were
strangers to him he sought out the club
owner after the game and bought the
rights to put out a program.
Stevens was soon selling his scorecards
at the Columbus ballpark. wearing a
distinctive red coat and top hat as he
yelled his sales pitch: “You can’t tell
the players without a scorecard!” The
scorecard he came up with included an
illustration on its front cover and an
advertisement on the back. Inside had a
list of the names and positions of the
players, along with room to takes notes
or keep score.
Stevens is credited with telling the
story that at a Giants game on a cold
April day in 1901 he was unable to sell
ice cream, and instead ordered his
staff to collect together 'dachshund
sausages', whereupon he stuffed them
into bread rolls and shouted Get your
red hots!. A cartoonist, recording the
event, was reputed to have been unable
to spell dachshund, so wrote hot dogs
instead.
Manufactured by the Lion Match Corp., this Harry M. Stevens advertising
matchbook cover depicts a pitcher on
the front, a batter on the back, and
reads "Caterers To The Sporting World"
on the inside of the cover. The saddle
(the portion of a cover between the two
central folds that divides the front
and back panels) reads, "Harry M.
Stevens Inc."
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