Guy who invented frisbees

Monday at his home in Santa Cruz , his son Dr. Daniel Headrick said today. But he made it clear he was serious. He wanted us to use his ashes in making some Frisbees. He even said he hopes we throw them around in his honor. Headrick, 78, died from complications resulting from two strokes he suffered July 22 while attending the Professional Disc Golf Association Amateur World Championships in Miami, his son said.

He is considered the father of disc golf, which involves throwing a Frisbee into a metal cage, a sport now played by millions, according to Freestyle Frisbee Association 's Web site. Headrick's association with the well-known flying disc began in the s when he joined with Arthur "Spud" Melin and Richard Knerr , founders of Wham-O, Inc. Wham-O was already famous as inventor of the Hula Hoop.

Wham-O sold its first Frisbee, originally called the "Pluto Platter," in , to satisfy America's obsession with flying saucers. Throwing a Frisbee is a natural and spontaneous joy. The Frisbie Pie Company served their delicious slices in these aluminum tins. The pies were well-loved by Yale students as they could be both study snacks and a fun way to spend time on campus. Walter "Fred" Morrison and his business partner Warren Franscioni sold "Flyin-Saucers" at beaches, parks, and community fairs.

Morrison and Franscioni attempted to boost sales by printing characters from the "Little Abner" comic strip on their flying discs. Ed Headrick, an employee at Wham-O, unleashed a new disc with grooves at the top that were referred to as Rings of Headrick. These Frisbees were the first professional models as they improved stability and speed.

Joel Silver and his high school friends started playing Ultimate Frisbee in a parking lot. Five years later, it became an official sport that has since been played in colleges around the country. Wham-O jumped on the glow-in-the-dark trend with their Fastback Frisbee.

At this point, Frisbees were flying off the shelves meaning this was an extra popular gift. Disc golf was invented by Ed Headrick, the same man who added ridges to the Frisbee. This sport is a lot less athletically intense than Ultimate Frisbee. Once Frisbee had been established as a sport, popular characters like Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man started showing up on the exterior.

This was a great way to promote their shows and movies. As the Frisbee fad was in full gear, many bands began to advertise with these popular toys. The Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin were a couple that got additional exposure with customized Frisbees. Companies took notice of how popular Frisbees were with all age groups. Flying discs were crafted from materials other than hard plastic. Polyester became popular as it was easy to fold, had a high tenacity, and was waterproof for the pool and rainy days.

Wham-O Toys was bought out from Mattel, allowing other companies to create Frisbees. Today, an estimated 60 manufacturers exist in the United States. LED Frisbees emerged as a popular way to host games in the dark. These discs use light-emitting diodes that create a flashy spectacle in the night sky! The U. These lethal flyers were meant to detect enemies and fire from upper story locations.

High school students used graphic design software, like Adobe Illustrator and QuarkXPress, to create designs on Frisbees for a class project. This shows how updated technology is still used on classic objects. The new company is located in California and employees have "Frisbee Fridays" in the parking lot. Germany hosted the Disc Dog Challenge, which featured a number of canines catching Frisbees. Around 60 participants from seven different countries competed in the event.

Throughout time, many other games were developed that used flying discs similar to discuses. These games include:. To this day, discus and some of the sports that followed are still played around the world!

Before there was an official Frisbee, people would spend their days tossing pie tins, cookie lids, or cake pans to one another. William R. The elder Headrick, who had high blood pressure, had suffered two strokes while attending the Professional Disc Golf Association Amateur World Championships in Miami last month and returned home to California after doctors determined that his condition was likely to deteriorate.

Hailed as the father of the modern Frisbee, Headrick helped to perfect the popular flying disc beloved by generations of college students while working at Emeryville, California-based toymaker Wham-O Inc. The Frisbee -- said to be named after the Frisbie Pie Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut , whose round metal tins were used as toys by students at Yale University in the late 19th Century -- took on new life with the advent of industrial plastics.

After World War Two, an inventor named Walter Morrison worked on perfecting a plastic version of the toy and came up with the "Pluto Platter" prototype, a plastic mini-flying saucer. But the platter still proved to be a wobbly throw.

Headrick, who was then working on research and development at Wham-O, took a look at the design and added aerodynamic ridges on the top of the disc, making it more flight-worthy.