The Tale of the Frisbee

Just about everyone has one lying around the house even if it's a knock off. The Frisbee is as American as apple pie. The story behind the toy is quite interesting.

It all begins in 1938 when Walter Fredrick Morrison and his girlfriend were offered 25 cents for a cake pan they were throwing back and forth. Morrison could get cake pans for 5 cents so he saw a business opportunity.

The "flying disc" phenomenon was a byproduct of the 1950's UFO craze. Morrison and his business partner began marketing their new and improved discs as the Flyin-saucer. In 1957, Morrison sold his product to the Wham-O toy company. Wham-O renamed the disc "Frisbee" after the Frisbie Pie Company who had supplied pies (and their throwable tins) to Yale University for years. Students would often be seen throwing the Frisbie tins in the same way Wham-O hoped they would throw the Frisbee. The popularity of the Frisbee took off in the 1960's ultimately leading to the organization of a professional league.