Thread: Frisbee Inventor Dies

Frisbee Inventor Walter Frederick Morrison Dies Aged 90


10:42 GMT, Friday, 12 February 2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8512198.stm


Walter Frederick Morrison with Pluto Platter in 1957
Mr Morrison used the 1950s' space-age craze
to market the Pluto Platter

The man who invented the Frisbee, one of the world's most popular toys, has died at his home in Utah aged 90.

Walter Frederick Morrison conceived and developed his aerodynamic plastic disc in the 1950s, and hundreds of millions have been sold worldwide since.

Frisbee historian Phil Kennedy said Mr Morrison and his future wife, Lu, got the idea from playing with a metal cake pan on the beach in California.

He originally called it the Pluto Platter and sold them at local fairs.

The platter's novel aerodynamic shape allowed it to hover briefly or travel surprisingly long distances, kept aloft by its rotation.

In 1957 Mr Morrison sold the rights to the California firm Wham-O, which discovered that youngsters were calling the toy a "frisbie" after the name of a well-known pie. The company changed the spelling to avoid trademark infringement and the Frisbee was born.

On the official Frisbee website, Wham-O paid tribute to Mr Morrison, who was known as Fred.

"As Frisbee discs keep flying though the air, bringing smiles to faces, Fred's spirit lives on. Smooth flights, Fred," it read.

Household object

Mr Morrison's son, Walt, told the Associated Press that his father had suffered from cancer, and that "old age had caught up" with him.

"He was a nice guy. He helped a lot of people. He was an entrepreneur. He was always looking for something to do," he added.

Lawyer Kay McIff, who represented Mr Morrison in a royalties case, said: "That simple little toy has permeated every continent in every country. As many homes have Frisbees as any other device ever invented.

"How would you get through your youth without learning to throw a Frisbee?"

Mr Morrison, who died at his home in Monroe, on Tuesday, is survived by three children.

Walt Morrison said the family is planning to hold a memorial service on Saturday at the Cowboy Corral in Elsinore, Utah.

I could a handle a frisbee. Very few people I throw it with could compete with me. It was sort of mandatory for 60s and 70s youth. It was a lot of fun. I could catch it from behind, between my legs and throw it right back and hit a target 50 to 75 yards away. Good exercise also.

ive never seen one that didnt have a brown tinge on the inside of the center of one.

DOGS EVERYWHERE WILL OBSERVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE...

Originally Posted by Kleinbok

DOGS EVERYWHERE WILL OBSERVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE...

I could never teach a dog to catch one. Maybe I didn't have the patience or was too busy playing frisbee with the women to worry about a dog.

i was to busy using it to clean my pot. then too stoned ta catch the dammed thing.

Originally Posted by jebe

i was to busy using it to clean my pot. then too stoned ta catch the dammed thing.

Yep, that was a use for it. Separate the stems out.

FUCKIN' SEEDS....

frisbie gulf courses where I live

I always thought Ed Hedricks invented the Frisbee....

Certainly, he invented disc golf.