Though the hoagie is a unique Philadelphia region creation, hoagie origins are still a mystery, writes Sam Greszes for Yardbarker.

The Delco-centric story is that the first hoagie came in 1925 from a shop in Chester, when a picky customer wanted a sandwich filled with whatever was available, so the staff loaded the sandwich up with cold cuts, peppers, and cheeses.

A second story says Hog Island shipyard Italian immigrants in the mid-1950s made long-roll sandwiches stuffed with meats and cheeses, popularly known as Hog Island sandwiches, shortened to “hoggies,” then “hoagies.

A third story says the hoagie comes from street vendors called “hokey-pokey men” who sold  long, soft rolls of bread stuffed with antipasto salad and meats to theater-goers

A fourth story says “on the hoke” described late 19^th and early 20^th century destitute people. Deli owners filled Italian bread rolls with scraps of meats and cheeses and gave them away. The sandwiches, called “hokie’s” were pronounced “hoagies” by disenfranchised Italian immigrants.

A fifth story says that former jazz musician Al De Palma referred to people eating giant submarine sandwiches as “hogs” so when he opened a sandwich shop in the Great Depression, he called his largest sandwich “hoggies”, which morphed into “hoagies.”

Read more about hoagie origin stories in Yardbarker.