Big Apple
"The Big Apple" was popularized as a name for New York City by John J. Fitz Gerald in a number of horse-racing articles for the "New York Morning Telegraph" in the 1920s. The earliest of these was a casual reference on 3rd May, 1921:
John J. Fitz Gerald
Fitz Gerald was the sports editor of the "Daily Sports Bulletin", a sports daily, in his later years. His last name was sometimes spelled "FitzGerald" by others, but "Fitz Gerald" was the spelling used in his "Morning Telegraph" column. He is best known today for popularizing "Big Apple" as a nickname for New York City.