WV, I wasn't sure of the condition affecting the apple tree in your pic, so, I emailed one of my best friends, who, luckily for us, happens to be an arborist. Here's what he wrote, and he has some additional questions based on what you saw, in order to narrow it down:
Brian,
Without viewing the whole tree or at least a larger section of the tree for other signs or symptoms, I cannot "definitively" ID the fungus. Many fungi of the host genus MALUS, can appear similar and are distinguished by a collection of symptoms i.e. did the leaves and flowers look saturated then burned then shrivel during the growing season? Did the leaves cling to the branches after they died? Did new shoots curl up like a shepards crook and look burned?
Diagnosing trees is similar to Chinese medicine in its holistic view of the patient, taking various signs and symptoms, environment, and weather conditions as an inter-related group of conditions contributing to the trees overall health.
With that said, my best guess based on this picture is that this tree was infected with Erwinia amylovora, also known as Fire Blight. This disease can destroy a tree in one season, but is treatable if identified early on. This particular tree is beyond help now that it is aging into firewood.
FYI, I forgot to tell him you cut it down, and just showed him the first pic, so he may have thought that was a shot from pruning only.
