The first candidate is the Union Club of New York City
The first recorded reference to the club sandwich appeared on page two of The Evening World newspaper on November 18, 1889. The article opens with an intriguing question: "Have you tried a Union Club sandwich yet?" If you're from New York, that name may ring a bell. Our initial contender is the so-called "Mother of Clubs": the Union Club of the City of New York.
A brief biographical piece about Mr. Ely Goddard, published in The Vermont Tribune on October 6, 1893, credits him as the "inventor" of "sandwiches made with toasted bread and sliced chicken." This assertion was echoed by other publications, including the New York Herald, which reiterated this claim in separate issues in 1891 and 1893, suggesting that Goddard was responsible for the sliced chicken sandwich.
While he is the most frequently mentioned and likely candidate for the creation of the sandwich, the evidence is not entirely definitive. In the November 18, 1889 edition of The Sun, the article refers to an unnamed "club chef" who contributed to the preparation and serving of the sandwiches to club members. The phrasing of the article leaves some ambiguity. Nevertheless, when it comes to the Union Club, Goddard appears to be its most prominent advocate regarding the renowned sandwich.
[Featured image by Wikis Take Manhattan by Headcases via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 3.0]
The Saratoga Club House also threw in its hat
While the Union Club is often regarded as the originator of the club sandwich, the Saratoga Club House—now known as the Canfield Casino in Saratoga Springs, New York—also asserts its claim as the sandwich's birthplace.
According to the club's website, the sandwich may have been conceived by either the club's owner, Richard Canfield, or the chefs in the kitchen. Their site notes that the Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink documented the sandwich's inclusion on the club's menu in 1894, five years after The Evening World first referenced the sandwich in 1889. However, there is limited evidence to firmly establish the Saratoga Club House as the sandwich's creator.
In contrast, the Union Club has a wealth of documents and newspaper articles supporting its status as the birthplace of the club sandwich, making its case appear stronger. Whether this claim is true remains a question that may never be definitively resolved, as both Richard Canfield and Ely Goddard, along with any 19th-century chefs who may have invented the sandwich, have long since passed. Fortunately, the history of sandwiches like peanut butter and jelly is far less contentious.
[Featured image by Beyond My Ken by Headcases via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]
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