Frisbee, Anyone?
Frisbee, Anyone?
Fred Morrison and his wife were playing toss and catch with a cake pan on a Los Angeles beach, back in 1938, when someone came up to him and offered him 25 cents for his pan. Morrison immediately recognized there was a market for the cake pans, which sold locally for 5 cents.
Morrison served in the air force in WWII, and after getting out, he designed a flying disc, which he and his partner, Warren Franscioni, began producing in 1948, calling them the "Flyin-Saucer." (UFO's were in the news!)
The first discs were demonstrated and sold at fairs.
When their partnership ended, Morrison formed his own company in 1954, eventually selling the rights to toy company Wham-O, in 1957.
Wham-O co-founder Richard Knerr named the flying discs Frisbees, after the Connecticut pie manufacturer, Frisbie Pie Company, which supplied pies to Yale University, whose students had been tossing around empty pie tins stamped with the company's name.
In 1964, Edward "Steady Ed" Headrick redesigned the Frisbee, making a more controllable disc that was easier to throw accurately. With this change, sales skyrocketed.
A memorial disc is on display at Ripley's Believe it or Not, in London, containing some of Ed Headrick's ashes.
Headrick became known as the father of Frisbee sports, and he later helped found the International Frisbee Association.
The first Frisbee golf tournament was held in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1968. The game, Ultimate Frisbee, still popular today, began in 1967.
By 1994, sales of Frisbees reached 100 million!
In 1998, the Frisbee was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
You know those dogs that are so good at catching Frisbees?
You can find one in any park...
Of course, that doesn't mean ALL dogs have an interest in catching Frisbees...
But lots of dogs seem to have a natural affinity for the Frisbee!
(That's quite a mouthful!)
They'll even dive for them!
Frisbee is definitely not a one-person game, as Millhouse demonstrates here...
On the other hand, if you're a creative person...
There's more than one way to skin a cat...
In fact, there are many ways to do it!
Even without help!
(Pretty good hangtime!)
Celebrities occasionally enjoy tossing the old Frisbee...
(This is one of the scenes that ultimately did not make the final cut in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 movie, Pulp Fiction)
People play Frisbee golf...
Frisbee football...
And Frisbee basketball.
It's a good game for athletes...and nerds alike.
Frisbee niche?
100 million customers can't be wrong!
Recent Comments
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I prototyped a rudimentary "Frisbee" about 1954 Rick by throwing a sharp edged coffee can at a neighbor kid. It cut him on the bridge of the nose. Fortunately it was before the days of litigation.
Frisbees are great for throwing around in geek companies. I'm sure Microsoft and Apple have sailed a few!
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Frisbee! Haven't seen one in quite some time! It's time to reawaken it! Summer is around the corner. How about some teamwork Rick? I'm the team, you do the work! :)
What kind of deal is that, Eric? :)