Where did the ongoing ‘do a good deed and the mayor of the town congratulates you with the key to the city’ in movies & shows come from? Was that ever a real thing?

Question

I’m watching family guy & Peter found a missing kid and as a reward the mayor gave him the key to the city (or town hall?).
I’ve also seen this happen in a few other movies.

Was this ever a real thing? Is this an inside joke I’m not aware of?

In: 2567

Answer 1

I live in Buffalo, NY. Our mayor, Byron Brown, held a press conference and gave a key to the city to Terrell Owens because he signed to play for the Buffalo Bills. It was embarrassing to say the least.

Edit: the key was given under the terms that he scored 10 touchdowns and the team made the playoffs. He ended up scoring 5 touchdowns and they did not make the playoffs. The year was 2009.