Thomas Arthur, creator of the iconic Dodger Dog hot dog sold at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, died of a heart attack June 8 in St. Louis

FM Staff

Thomas Arthur, creator of the iconic Dodger Dog hot dog sold at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, died of a heart attack June 8 in St. Louis. He was 84. Arthur ran the food concessions at Dodger Stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, from 1962 to 1991. His company, Arthur Food Services, also managed concessions at the Los Angeles Coliseum from 1955 to 1976 (the Dodgers played at the Coliseum from 1958, when they moved to the West Coast from Brooklyn, NY, to 1962, when Dodger Stadium was completed). For a time, he also managed concessions at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and Chicago's Wrigley Field. The foot-long Dodger Dog remains one of baseball’s most popular concession items, allowing the Dodgers to consistently lead the majors in the number of hot dogs sold at their park. In 2005, they were again No. 1 with nearly 1.7 million hot dogs consumed. Wrigley Field and Denver's Coors Field trailed with about 1.5 million, according to the latest figures compiled by the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council.