FROM CORNY AND PRONTO TO DAGWOOD AND KOGO: WHICH CAME FIRST?

The stories are as yummy as the dogs.

Which was first? Perhaps the ancient Egyptians who invented deep frying over 7,000 years ago?

The corn dog we know today is a far cry from the ancients. Bar S speculated that modern “corn dogs are such a great idea, more than one person thought of it.”

Huh?

What’s a corn dog anyway? Basically, it’s a hot dog or sausage dipped in batter, and fried. There’s usually a stick attached for easy eating – especially important when most of them are gobbled down at fairs, carnivals, ballgames, and festivals. Erin Shaw describes it in Culture, as a “meaty, salty-sweet aroma that wafts into the air . . . it’s unmistakable and enough to make your mouth start to water instantly.”

Hungry yet?

Yummy Eats argued that the original idea goes back to a 1927 patent that described the snack.

Who knows?

In 1937, Roger Newman was a tavern owner who sold hot dogs at high school football games in Adel, Iowa. Suddenly, Newman and all the other vendors, ran out of buns. Newman came up with the idea of breading the hot dogs with batter he had prepared for a fish fry. He deep-fried them and it was a hit – people ate the “corn dogs” with waxed paper, their fingers, or in paper cones.

Another story described husband-and-wife team, George and Versa Boyington, who ran a small hot dog stand in Otis, Oregon. On Labor Day Weekend, 1939, the rain hit. Their stack of hot dog buns was soaked – totally ruined. Wikipedia reported that “while feeding the scraps of his ruined buns to the seagulls, he began thinking of ways he could cook buns on the spot.” The result was a corn dog called Pronto Pup. Only two years later, the Boyingtons sold 15,000 Pronto Pups at the Pacific International Livestock Exposition.

Knowing they had something big, the Boyingtons patented their invention under The Pronto Pup Company. They trademarked the name and sold franchises. There was one rule (eventually changed) – it had to be served plain or with mustard. No ketchup allowed.

They weren’t the only ones claiming first rights.

Colorful brothers and vaudeville performers, Carl and Neil Fletcher, claimed they introduced “Corny Dogs” at the Texas State Fair in 1938. Cozy Dog Drive-In, in Springfield, Illinois, declared they were the first to serve “cozy dogs” on a stick in 1941. Dave Barham, owner of California’s Hot Dog on A Stick, argued he was first in 1946.

Steve Snodgrass, Wikimedia Commons

They were all part of a craze that swept the states in fairs, festivals, and ballgames. Today, the corn dog – or whatever you call it – has become an American classic.

The rest of the world caught on. There are Israeli kosher, dairy-free corn dogs, Australian Dagwood Dogs, Argentinean panchukers, South Korean kogos, and the new kid on the block, Kong Dogs in flavors from cheese and ramen to peanut and churro. There’s even French fry crusted dogs.

These days you can “ride” a mechanical pup at the Rockaway Pronto Pup in Oregon. It describes itself as The Birthplace of the Pronto Pup & Home of the Giant Corn Dog. A giant Pronto Pup with a stick, sits on the roof. They also offer flavors from footlong and spicy to pickle and zucchini.

Pickle dogs?

Wikimedia Commons

Celebrate the annual National Corndog Day, usually during basketball’s March Madness. Eat one of 630,000 corn dogs sold at The Texas State Fair, purchase corn dog jewelry, or try miniature or frozen versions. For your fur baby, you can get corn dog toys and treats.

After all, corny and Pronto, Dagwood and kogo are all about fun, nostalgia, summer fairs, carnivals, ballgames . . . anything that brings a smile.