If you could post a pic or two im sure it would help people form an opinion.

Imagining what he did, it should regrow but he probably didn't leave anything to fruit this year.
It's not foggy thinking, it's just wrong. My young nephew did something similar to his.

When it regrows it will go wild and you should keep after it keeping branches trained to good angles, keeping them from coming out too close to each other and keeping them from being too long an whippy.

Keep after it this year and it should calm down for next year. And you should have plenty of new branches to choose your new tree shape from.

Actually, old timers used to call this "dehorning". It was a standard first step in old apple renovation in their day. It's still a pretty good approach if you hate the variety- next year it will be easy to graft onto the water sprouts and you can quickly have any kind of apples you want. Of course if you want the apples that the tree already produced you will have to wait at least a year and maybe more for that.

The problem is that it takes considerable skill to convert a butchered apple tree into a decent tree again. When a riot of competing shoots sprout from the stubs, choose one heading in the same direction as the branch and pinch back the competition. If you do this shortly after first flush you can quickly steer the growth into a graceful and productive tree again.

Thanks so much for the responses and advice. I have tried to post a picture.

Does it look like there is any hope for the tree to come back?

PS. Don't confuse the background tree braches with this tree. :) This tree has NO braches left! :(

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:80463}}

Looks like it was falling over anyway. If this little thing is 50 years old, it must be on fully dwarfing rootstock. The leaning would also fit that situation, the dinky roots that fully dwarf the top also not being enough to hold it up as it reaches full development.

But: was anyone selling fully dwarfed apple cultivars 50 years ago?

It probably won't die but as mentioned it will have to be worked with to get a decent shape back. Likely threats to long-term health are burning and cracking of the tops of the now fully exposed main branches, and failure to recover from its stored energy reserves being reduced by the removal of most branches - and depleted by the growing of new ones. Mature trees may be thrown enough out of balance by brutal pruning that they never regain it, and gradually sink away like the Titanic. Growth may continue for years but eventually it peters and dies.

Chainsaw pruning of apple trees is epidemic out here, one of many ignorant yet pervasive practices. Most old trees have been attacked at some point, and when inspected prove to have serious decay problems in the main branches or trunk.

How are you set for firewood? (just trying to look on the bright side)

Personally, I would not touch it for a year, and then very carefully prune. It has a very good root system that is not going to die, It just needs as many leaves as possible at this point. A graft would do extremely well on this tree as all the nutrients would go right to it. Get yourself some scion wood and make each large branch a different kind of apple! Old apple trees like that are just about bulletproof, as long as you dont let it rot.

The man is a menace- if he was going to whack the tree he should have done it to the other side. Species vary greatly in having the ability to regenerate bud primordia from old wood. It would be terrible if the tree sends out no new wood from the stumps and only from the out of balance side he left some smaller wood on. All you can do is wait and see. If it sends up no new wood near center there may be no hope of it ever being an attractive tree.