Only In New York. Story #54.
Uncle Tip-Top and Tony Four

Who are Uncle Tip-Top and Tony Four?

They were my enterprising uncles, long since passed.

Uncle Tip-Top (real name Tom) was a fleet supervisor for Ward Baking, the company which manufactured a popular brand of highly-processed, empty-calorie white bread called Tip-Top. Its ironic slogan? “Tip-Top Bread Builds Bodies Eight Ways.”

Tip-Top’s fleet of 200 trucks – driven by men wearing brown uniforms with a Tip-Top crest and Tip-Top crested hats – delivered the bread daily to thousands of stores and supermarkets throughout New York.

But Uncle Tip-Top was more than just a fleet supervisor. He turned the bread deliveries into a robust pick-up and delivery service for a gambling racket called “Numbers.” In many ways, it was like today’s legalized state and federal lotteries.

And, Tony Four was more than just my uncle. He was Uncle Tip-Top’s Chief Operating Officer at Bread Trucks Incorporated. To learn more about their business, and the challenges they had to overcome, you might want to check out my latest book, an entertaining collection of short stories, ONLY IN NEW YORK. 36 True Stories that Celebrate New York’s Unique DNA.

“A thoroughly captivating and entertaining collection of stories about the real New York.”
– International Review of Books

“You’ll turn every page with a smile on your face.”
– San Francisco Book Review

“Engaging snapshots of a life lived across New York City by a born-and-raised New Yorker.”
– Manhattan Book Review