The Wall Street Journal: Big Mac Creator Jim Delligatti Dies at 98

The Pittsburgh-area McDonald’s franchisee who created the Big Mac nearly 50 years ago has died. Michael “Jim” Delligatti was 98.

Delligatti’s franchise was based in Uniontown, about 40 miles south of Pittsburgh, when he invented the chain’s signature burger with two all-beef patties, “special sauce,” lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun. The original price was only 45 cents, compared with the average $5 today.

McDonald’s resisted Delligatti’s idea at first because the brand’s simple lineup of cheeseburgers, fries and shakes were selling well. But Delligatti had a different vision in mind—he wanted to offer a bigger and jazzier burger. As it turns out, Delligatti’s risk paid off. The Big Mac did so well it spread to the rest of his 47 stores, then went national in 1968. Today, it is estimated that 550 million Big Macs are sold in the United States every year.

Delligatti also innovated by coming up with an early version of the chain’s breakfast offerings—hotcakes and sausages initially aimed at steelworkers returning home from overnight shifts.

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