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A 1930s California beach boy, Walter Frederick Morrison, saw enormous opportunity in the playtime practice of skimming pie plates through the air.
That original vision led a worldwide sensation that’s explored in detail in a new Fox Nation special.
“Meet the American” has returned for Season 2 with “America’s Newsroom” co-anchor Bill Hemmer showcasing an array of stories that make America great.
‘MEET THE AMERICAN’ VETERAN WHO CREATED PICKLEBALL AND FIND OUT HOW HE DID IT
Each episode highlights the individuals whose ideas, perseverance or innovations have left an enduring imprint on American culture with a full episode devoted to the roots of the game of Frisbee.
Fox News’ Hemmer recounts the remarkable story of fighter pilot Morrison, who invented the game after World War II.
Fox Nation’s “Meet the American” Season 2 features a deep dive into the creation of the Frisbee amid the launch of a leisure lifestyle. (Angelo Merendino/Corbis via Getty Images)
Students at Yale and other New England schools had been tossing around empty pie tins from the Frisbie Baking Company in Connecticut, according to the Strong National Museum of Play.
Morrison, together with Warren Franscioni, turned the casual activity into a game, developing a plastic disc version in 1948.
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The invention had an airfoil at the outer edge dubbed “the Morrison slope.”
It helped the toy lift during flight, according to the same source.
A casual and fun outdoor activity was turned into a game, and a plastic disc version was developed in 1948. (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images)
Wham-O toy founders purchased the rights in 1955, officially naming the flying saucer “Frisbee” in 1958.
“It was an instant phenomenon,” Tristan Lin, brand director for Wham-O, previously told Fox News Digital.
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“Before you knew it, every college kid in America was playing Frisbee.”
The game soared in popularity, with Wham-O toy inventor Ed Headrick and other enthusiasts founding the International Frisbee Association in 1967.
“Before you knew it, every college kid in America was playing Frisbee,” said a brand director for Wham-O. (iStock)
A Frisbee Golf Tournament followed a year later in California, while Ultimate Frisbee was later invented in New Jersey.
Eventually, Headrick left Wham-O to start “disc golf.”
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Today, the Professional Disc Golf Association hosts tournaments with participants from all over the world.
As Smithsonian Magazine noted, “The flying disc had humble beginnings but has since become an international phenomenon.”
Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley contributed reporting.