When Was the Frisbee Invented?

###When Was the Frisbee Invented?### Advertisements

There are many stories and claims behind the invention of Frisbee. The Frisbee has evolved from a pie tin tossed around by college students to a sports game with many followers. So when was the Frisbee invented? Here are some highlights in the history of Frisbee.

Hunter College

1820 Elihu Frisbie, an undergraduate student of Yale, was said to be the first man who has thrown a Frisbee and this is when it was first said to be invented. He was using a range tray he found at the chapel and tossed it around campus. The name Frisbee was said to be coined after his last name. This won Yale the glory of inventing the Frisbee but this claim met a lot of protest and argument.

1871-1958 A baking business in Connecticut made their pies with a pie tin that has the name of their business engraved at the bottom. The name of their business was Frisbie, thus another claim to owning the name Frisbee. The pies were said to be the favourite of the college students around New England and it was said that after devouring the pies, the students clowned around and tossed the pie tins in the air, catching and tossing it back. The game could kill hours of their time and it spread around as a fun game to play; this was also said to be when the Frisbee was invented.

1948 Walter Frederick Morrison and Warren Franscioni, fans of the toy Frisbee (though it was still Frisbie then), made a plastic version of the toy and sold it to other enthusiasts. That was when the Frisbee was truly invented. But before the toy could have any success, their friendship ended and only Morrison was left to pursue his passion. The plastic version can fly higher and is easier to manoeuvre and soon spread to be a better version. It was thriving and was adopted by other population because of its accuracy and speed. He called his version 'Pluto Platter'. He decided on the name to ride on the curiosity of population on Ufos. The popularity of Ufos in that decade and the similarity of the shape made it sensible for Morrison to name his toy 'Pluto Platter'. Morrison listed the patent of his produce and called it 'Morrison Slope'.

1955 Wham-O, makers of hula-hoop, saw Morrison's produce and convinced him to sell his rights.

1957 Wham-O started producing the toy, still calling it 'Pluto Platter'.

1958 Frisbie Baking Company, where the traditional Frisbee was said to have come from, shut down.

1958 Walter Frederick Morrison collected over a million dollars worth of royalties for his patented design.

1964 Wham-O remarketed the toy and wanted a new name. They came about the traditional name and the story behind it and decided to go with it. They reintroduced the stock as a sports game and changed the name to Frisbee and coined the word 'frisbie-ing'. This year, the first version of the production of the pro Frisbee was when the Frisbee was invented.

When Was the Frisbee Invented?