HISTORY OF FRISBEE

Walter Frederick Morrison discovered a market for the modern-day flying disc[4] in 1938 when he and future wife Lucile were offered US 25 cents for a cake pan that they were tossing back and forth to each other on the beach in Santa Monica, California. Jimmy Frisbee was one of 10 Frisbee children who got bored one day, built a frisbee and through at a passing dog. "That got the wheels turning, because you could buy a cake pan for 5 cents, and if people on the beach were willing to pay a quarter for it, well, there was a business," Morrison told The Virginian-Pilot newspaper in 2007. They continued their business until World War II, when he served in the Army Air Force, flying aP-47s and spent time as a prisoner of war.

Returning from the war, Morrison sketched a design for an aerodynamically-improved flying disc that he called the Whirlo-Way. By 1948, after design modifications and experimentation with several prototypes, Morrison and business partner Warren Franscioni began producing the first plastic discs, renaming it the Flyin-Saucer in the wake of reported unidentified-flying-object sightings. "We worked fairs, demonstrating it", Morrison told the Virginian-Pilot. The two of them once overheard someone saying they used wires to make the discs hover like they were, so they used a sales pitch, "The flyin' saucer is free, but the invisible wire is $1." "That's where we learned we could sell these things, because people ate them up [meaning, were enthusiastic about them]."

Morrison and Franscioni ended their partnership in 1950. Morrison formed his own company in 1953 called American Trends to sell a similar design and after further refinements in 1955, Morrison began producing a new disc, which he called the Pluto Platter. He sold the rights to Wham-O in 1956 and in 1958, Morrison was awarded U.S. Design Patent D183,626 for his flying disc.

In June 1957, Wham-O co-founder Richard Knerr decided to stimulate sales by giving the discs the additional brand name Frisbee (pronounced "friz'-bee"), after learning that Connecticut college students were calling the Pluto Platter by that name, [5] the term "Frisbee" coming from the name of the Bridgeport, CT pie manufacturer Frisbie Pie Company.] "I thought the name was a horror... terrible," Morrison told The Press-Enterprise of Riverside in 2007. In 1982, Morrison told Forbes magazine that he had received about US$2 million in royalty payments and said: "I wouldn't change the name of it for the world."

The man behind the Frisbee's phenomenal success, however, was Edward "Steady Ed" Headrick (Pasadena, Cal., June 28, 1924 — La Selva Beach, Cal., August 12, 2002), hired in 1964 as Wham-O's new general manager and vice president in charge of marketing. Headrick soon redesigned the Pluto Platter by reworking the rim thickness and top design, creating a more controllable disc that could be thrown accurately.

Sales skyrocketed for the toy, which was marketed as a new sport. In 1964, the first professional model went on sale. Headrick patented the new design, highlighting the new raised ridges (the "Rings of Headrick") that stablized flight and marketed and pushed the Professional Model Frisbee and "Frisbee" as a sport. (U.S. Patent 3,359,678).

Headrick, who became known as the father of disc sports, [10] later founded The International Frisbee Association (IFA) and began establishing standards for various sports using the Frisbee such as Distance, Freestyle and Guts. Upon his death, Headrick was cremated, and, as requested by him, his ashes were molded into memorial Frisbees and given to family and close friends.

FRISBEE TIMELINE

1920sYale students discover the fun of throwing pie tins from the Frisbie Baking Company of Bridgeport, CT.

1948Fred Morrison, California carpenter and building inspector, manufactures the first plastic flying disc.

1955Rich Knerr and A.K. "Spud" Melin invite Morrison to join WHAM–O.

1957WHAM–O introduces the "Pluto Platter," a flying plastic disc.

1958WHAM–O modifies its flying plastic disc and trademarks the name "Frisbee" for its flying disc toy

1964Professional Model Frisbee disc, designed by Ed Headrick of WHAM–O, is introduced

1967International Frisbee Association founded by Ed Headrick

1968U.S. Navy spends nearly $400,000 to test Frisbee disc as a vehicle for keeping flares aloft.

1969Ultimate, another Frisbee disc sport, is invented by Columbia High School students in Maplewood, NJ.

First major Disc Golf competition takes place at the International Frisbee Association meet at Brookside Park, Pasadena, CA.

1974Flying Disc World, bi-monthly flying disc magazine, introduced.

First all-dog flying disc competition held at California State University, Fullerton.

World Frisbee Disc Championships held at Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA.1975

Dr. Stancil Johnson reveals the growth of a sport by writing "Frisbee: A Practioners Manual & Definitive Treatise."

1978Frisbee Disc "Hall of Fame" established in Houghton, MI.

1979Tom Kennedy wins $50,000 in the Disc Gold Tournament in Huntington Beach, CA.

1980Freestyle team called "Coloradicals" redefine Freestyle and won the World Frisbee Disc Championship, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA.

1981First Senior World Overall Championships exclusively for players over age 35 held in Springfield, MO.

1982Discathon sport introduced at National Frisbee Disc Championships, Sacramento, CA.

1985First World Flying Disc Congress held in Helsingborg, Sweden with representatives from 19 nations in attendance.

1986Cub Scouts introduce activity badge for participation in Ultimate.

1987The General Association of International Sports Federation accepts the World Flying Disc Federation as a member.

1992World’s Biggest Disc Golf Meet features over 12,000 players participating on 200 courses around the world on the same day.

1993

The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports accepts flying disc sports as a new category for Presidential Sports Award.

1994Anni Kreml of San Francisco breaks a four–year women’s Distance World Record by hurling a disc 136.31 meters (447.2 feet) on August 20 at the 1994 U.S. Open Flying Disc Championships at Fort Collins, CO.

1998Scott Stokely of Ft. Collins, CO. sets the Men’ Distance World Record at 211.32 meters (693.3 feet).

2001Flying disc sports become part of the World Games in Akita, Japan.

HOW TO PLAY FRISBEE

What You’ll Need

Playing Field. The standard size for a playing field is 40 yards wide and 64 meters long. The field should also have a 25 yard end zone on both ends. In total, the whole field must be 120 yards long. Of course, for a more casual game, you can simply mark your field and end zones with markers or chalk.

Players. The standard number for each team is seven players each, although this may be adjusted in a casual game. You can also assign a referee. It also helps to have color-coded uniforms for each team.

Decide on the Stall Count. The stall count is the number of seconds a player can hold onto the Frisbee before throwing it to another player. The standard stall count is 10 seconds, and if a player has been holding the Frisbee for that time or longer, the Frisbee is automatically turned over to the opposing team. The opposing team may start the Stall Count out loud after two seconds of the player holding the Frisbee. If you have a referee, the referee himself must do it.

Flip a Coin. The team who gets the possession of the Frisbee first is decided by a flip of the coin.

Frisbee Mechanics

The goal of Frisbee is to earn a score by catching the disc in the opposing team’s end zone. The team who gets 15 points first wins the game. However, the team must also be in the lead by two points, otherwise the game time is lengthened. You can have a small break once a team scores eight points.

1. To play Frisbee, grip the disc tightly in your hands and bring the Frisbee to your chest, wrapping your arm around it like a coil.

2. If you’re a beginner, it’s better to throw the disc short distances first.

3. Each team member must have an assigned opposition member that they guard at all times.

4. After deciding on who will be in the possession of the disc first, each team must position themselves in a straight row in the front of their team’s end zones. If Team B has the initial possession of the disc, the Team B player must throw the disc across the field to another Team B player, with the aim to send it into Team A’s end zone. Team A must then do what they can to take the disc back.

5. The disc can be thrown in any direction. However, it may not be handed off from one player to another.

6. You can score points by catching the Frisbee in the opponent team’s end zone. To score, the player must catch the disc while already in the end zone, not running to the end zone after catching it.

7. You cannot run with the disc. You must stay in one place or pivot without gaining ground to throw the Frisbee. If you’re running while catching the disc, you must pace yourself to be able to stop once you catch the Frisbee.

8. Players may not touch each other, nor prevent others from running, catching the disk or throwing the disk by physical contact. In some cases of accidental contact, the aggrieved player may call “Foul,” which will lead to a discussion. The person who called foul will generally be awarded possession of the Frisbee.

9. Turnover of the Frisbee from Team A to Team B is done if Team A commits any of the following:

The disc touching the ground

If the Team B catches or intercepts the Frisbee thrown by Team A

If a player of Team A drops the disc

If Team B knocks down the Frisbee

If Team A catches the disc out of the assigned playing area

If a player of Team A holds on the disc longer than the Stall Count

10. Only one player stands as guard for the opposing team’s player. There can be no multiple guards from the opposing team for one particular team player.