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January 23, 1957: Toy company Wham-O produces first Frisbees



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 23rd 07, 05:07 PM posted to austin.general,rec.toys.misc,rec.sport.disc,rec.pets.dogs.behavior,rec.pets.dogs.misc
Fred Goodwin, CMA
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Posts: 2
Default January 23, 1957: Toy company Wham-O produces first Frisbees

January 23, 1957: Toy company Wham-O produces first Frisbees

http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=52349
http://tinyurl.com/yqfl3e

On this day in 1957, machines at the Wham-O toy company roll out the
first batch of their aerodynamic plastic discs--now known to millions
of fans all over the world as Frisbees.

The story of the Frisbee began in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where
William Frisbie opened the Frisbie Pie Company in 1871. Students from
nearby universities would throw the empty pie tins to each other,
yelling "Frisbie!" as they let go. In 1948, Walter Frederick Morrison
and his partner Warren Franscioni invented a plastic version of the
disc called the "Flying Saucer" that could fly further and more
accurately than the tin pie plates. After splitting with Franscioni,
Morrison made an improved model in 1955 and sold it to the new toy
company Wham-O as the "Pluto Platter"--an attempt to cash in on the
public craze over space and Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).

In 1958, a year after the toy's first release, Wham-O--the company
behind such top-sellers as the Hula-Hoop, the Super Ball and the Water
Wiggle--changed its name to the Frisbee disc, misspelling the name of
the historic pie company. A company designer, Ed Headrick, patented the
design for the modern Frisbee in December 1967, adding a band of raised
ridges on the disc's surface--called the Rings--to stabilize flight. By
aggressively marketing Frisbee-playing as a new sport, Wham-O sold over
100 million units of its famous toy by 1977.

High school students in Maplewood, New Jersey, invented Ultimate
Frisbee, a cross between football, soccer and basketball, in 1967. In
the 1970s, Headrick himself invented Frisbee Golf, in which discs are
tossed into metal baskets; there are now hundreds of courses in the
U.S., with millions of devotees. There is also Freestyle Frisbee, with
choreographed routines set to music and multiple discs in play, and
various Frisbee competitions for both humans and dogs--the best natural
Frisbee players.

Today, at least 60 manufacturers produce the flying discs--generally
made out of plastic and measuring roughly 20-25 centimeters (8-10
inches) in diameter with a curved lip. The official Frisbee is owned by
Mattel Toy Manufacturers, who bought the toy from Wham-O in 1994.

  #2  
Old January 23rd 07, 07:34 PM posted to austin.general,rec.toys.misc,rec.sport.disc,rec.pets.dogs.behavior,rec.pets.dogs.misc
Knappy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2
Default January 23, 1957: Toy company Wham-O produces first Frisbees

Philly local radio station did a piece this morning on 50th anniversary
of Frisbee and PADA VP was intereviewed: text & MP 3 of broadcast is
he

http://www.pada.org/kyw



Fred Goodwin, CMA wrote:
January 23, 1957: Toy company Wham-O produces first Frisbees

http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=52349
http://tinyurl.com/yqfl3e

On this day in 1957, machines at the Wham-O toy company roll out the
first batch of their aerodynamic plastic discs--now known to millions
of fans all over the world as Frisbees.

The story of the Frisbee began in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where
William Frisbie opened the Frisbie Pie Company in 1871. Students from
nearby universities would throw the empty pie tins to each other,
yelling "Frisbie!" as they let go. In 1948, Walter Frederick Morrison
and his partner Warren Franscioni invented a plastic version of the
disc called the "Flying Saucer" that could fly further and more
accurately than the tin pie plates. After splitting with Franscioni,
Morrison made an improved model in 1955 and sold it to the new toy
company Wham-O as the "Pluto Platter"--an attempt to cash in on the
public craze over space and Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).

In 1958, a year after the toy's first release, Wham-O--the company
behind such top-sellers as the Hula-Hoop, the Super Ball and the Water
Wiggle--changed its name to the Frisbee disc, misspelling the name of
the historic pie company. A company designer, Ed Headrick, patented the
design for the modern Frisbee in December 1967, adding a band of raised
ridges on the disc's surface--called the Rings--to stabilize flight. By
aggressively marketing Frisbee-playing as a new sport, Wham-O sold over
100 million units of its famous toy by 1977.

High school students in Maplewood, New Jersey, invented Ultimate
Frisbee, a cross between football, soccer and basketball, in 1967. In
the 1970s, Headrick himself invented Frisbee Golf, in which discs are
tossed into metal baskets; there are now hundreds of courses in the
U.S., with millions of devotees. There is also Freestyle Frisbee, with
choreographed routines set to music and multiple discs in play, and
various Frisbee competitions for both humans and dogs--the best natural
Frisbee players.

Today, at least 60 manufacturers produce the flying discs--generally
made out of plastic and measuring roughly 20-25 centimeters (8-10
inches) in diameter with a curved lip. The official Frisbee is owned by
Mattel Toy Manufacturers, who bought the toy from Wham-O in 1994.


 




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