The Frisbee turns 50
Clarissa Allen wrapped her fingers around the curved edges of a Frisbee for the first time when she was a high school freshman. It wasn’t all that big a deal to her - tossing the disc was just something she did with friends to pass the time. “We played Ultimate Frisbee just for fun during our breaks,” she says.
Yet years later, when Allen began attending the University of Louisville in Kentucky, she found herself strangely attracted to the folks tossing Frisbees on the campus’s west lawn. She started playing with them, eventually leading to her joining the school’s Ultimate team as well as the Louisville Ultimate Frisbee Association. All of a sudden, the disc was a major part of her recreational life.
“The really cool thing about the Frisbee is the way it floats and the way it flies,” says Allen, 21, of Germantown, Ky.
Allen is one of many who share an affinity for Frisbee, a household brand name which has its 50th anniversary this year.
Who knew that a toy old enough to join the AARP would remain so relevant? Certainly not Walter Frederick Morrison, who invented the disc in 1947.
“My goodness, it’s amazing. The world has changed a lot in the past 50 years, but the original purpose of Frisbee is still intact,” says the 87-year-old entrepreneur, who lives in Monroe, Utah. “Just seeing the smile on a child’s face as he or she catches a soaring disc on a summer afternoon in the park, or a grown-up diving headfirst to grab a flying disc – that is what the spirit of Frisbee is all about.”
Morrison got the idea for Frisbee in 1937 during a family gathering at which he tossed around a lid of a popcorn can. Once his concept was formed, he spent some 20 years developing and perfecting his disc – which went by the names Flyin’ Saucer and then the Pluto Platter before selling the rights to Wham-O in 1957.
The company changed the product name to Frisbee.
Frisbee uses have evolved from games of catch in the backyard to competitive sports such as Ultimate and Frisbee Golf.
Ultimate, now an official event at the World Games, employs elements of several different sports, including rugby and soccer. The object is to pass the disc to others on your team, eventually making it into the opposing team’s end zone. Frisbee golf is just like the original game, except players toss the disc into elevated baskets instead of driving and putting a golf ball.
Other companies have engineered their own flying discs. And not every disc-related sport uses the Frisbee brand; some require specialized items.
Still, the variants have roots based in the Frisbee, and the plastic disc continues to win over new fans.
“It is remarkable to see such a simple product continue to evoke the passions of kids and adults alike,” said Mojde Esfandiari, president and CEO of Wham-O.
Enthusiasts insist that Frisbee’s longevity and popularity can partly be attributed to its versatility.
“Because of the nature of Ultimate, you can have college athletes playing alongside 50-year-olds who aren’t in that good of shape,” Allen says. “And it’s really interesting because it incorporates a lot of aspects of a lot of cool sports. It’s similar to soccer as far as strategy and the way it’s played. But it’s played with a disc, so you don’t have to be the fastest player if you’re good with throws.”
Currently, Ultimate is played in more than 42 countries, and disc golf is one of the fastest growing sports, with courses are popping up all over the country. Because of this, fans think Frisbee will live to see its 100th anniversary.