"[3] Over time, he expanded to Toledo, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh,[2] and also founded Harry M. Stevens Inc., a stadium concessions company.

Stevens claimed that at a Giants' home game on a cold April day in 1901,[c] there was limited demand for ice cream so he decided to sell German "dachshund sausages", having his staff place them in bread rolls and sell them as "red hots".

[3] Newspaper cartoonist Tad Dorgan,[6] reportedly recounting the event, was said to have been unable to spell dachshund, so wrote "hot dogs" instead.

[3] This account has been disputed by researchers, who point out the earliest known hot-dog cartoon by Dorgan dates to 1906,[7] and "the term 'hot dog' was used for sausages in buns as early as 1895 in college newspapers.

[10] Stevens Park in Niles, Ohio, which opened in 1936, was named in his honor after his family donated its 35 acres (14 ha) to the city.