What Makes The Dodger Dog So Unique?

Major League Baseball just feels like it was made for Summer time. The hot weather, the bright colors of your favorite team, and, most importantly, the ballpark foods. Many of the classic baseball snacks like popcorn, cracker jacks, and hot dogs just seem to taste better in a crowded stadium on a hot day.

Stadium foods have come a long way from the simple classics of yesteryear with many unique creations that seek to capture the spirit of each team. According to Stadium Talk, there are some truly wild options out there. There's the 2-pound chicken tender known as the Fowl Pole that can be found at the Texas Rangers' Globe Life Park, per The Dallas Morning News. The Pittsburgh Cone at PNC Park which consists of kielbasa, pierogis, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing all held together in a waffle cone-like some sort of cursed sundae (via SB Nation Bucs Dugout). And what summer ball game would be complete without sampling the toasted grasshoppers at the Mariner's T-Mobile Park in Seattle (via Forbes)?

Despite the escalating arms race of modern ballpark food, there are still many classics out there that are destined to outlast even the most delicious of these new additions. One of the most iconic of these is the Dodger Dog of the Los Angeles Dodgers'.

According to LAist, the Dodger Dog is a unique creation that perfectly captures the spirit of the team. The ballpark snack is a beef and pork blend All-American hot dog that was inspired by the team's origins. The Los Angeles Dodgers were originally founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York, but would move out to California in 1958 (via Britannica). 

LAist notes that the Dodger Dog was first made for the opening of Dodger stadium in 1962. The team concessions director at the time, Thomas Arthur, sought to create an item that was inspired by the team's East Coast origins. So Arthur paid homage to Coney Island's famous foot-long franks. However, he discovered that the dogs were actually two inches too short. In order to avoid false advertising with foot-long claims, the ten-inch dog was renamed the "Dodger Dog."

The Dodger Dog has become a symbol of the Dodgers' fan base, even earning its own statue outside of the stadium. According to LA Weekly, the Dodger Dog has managed to hold off any changes thanks to those passionate fans. In the 1990s, concessions tried to boil the dogs instead of grilling them, but this change was quickly met with harsh feedback. The original Dodger Dog doesn't seem to be going anywhere, but several toppings and alternate dogs have since been made available for game day fans.