History

A time line of the evolution of Disc Sports...

From ancient Greece there’s a famous statue of Discobolus throwing a kind of overhand throw with a flying disc.

Meanwhile in Utah the remains of a clay throw and catch disc was found. This was most probably used by Native Indians for recreation. Perhaps they played disc golf with them?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
THE FRISBIE PIE BAKING CO.

In the late 1870’s a baker named William Russel Frisbie, of Warren, Connecticut, and later of Bridgeport, put the family name on the bottom of the light tin pans in which the homemade pies were sold.  The Bridgeport Frisbie Pie Co. grew and soon sold throughout much of Connecticut, including New Haven where a group of Yale students famously began using them for 'recreation'.

Yale students in New Haven, Connecticut, began playing throw and catch with the Frisbie Pie Baking Co tins. They shouted “FRISBIE” as the tins sailed through the air to alert each other of these incoming missiles!

 

1950’s FLYING SAUCER ENTHUSIAST
In California, a UFO enthusiast named Walter Morrison designed a ‘flying saucer’ to play throw and catch with, which was consequently produced by ‘Wham-O’. The president of Wham-O then encountered this pie-tin-tossing craze at Yale while on a promotional tour of college campuses and renamed the ‘flying saucer’ to ‘Frisbee®’, dropping the letter ‘i’ to avoid any legal issues. 

This picture feature Walter giving this nice young lady some 1 to 1 tuition with only one thing on his mind... Frisbee® of course!

Disc Sports became popular pastime for ‘hippies’ in USA playing 'Frisbee®' games such as Guts, Freestyle, Frisbee® Baseball, and Folf (an earlier term for Disc Golf). Festivals and tournaments took place during the 1970's, attracting hundreds and thousands of spectators and newcomers to Disc Sports.

Ultimate was invented by a group of 13 year old boys at Columbia High, Maplewood, New Jersey. The game was then adopted by students in colleges throughout North America. 

This picture is of one of the first teams to be established.

 

 

   

 

Disc Golf took off in the USA using basket & chain targets and high-tech golf discs – a whole new industry emerged with hundreds of golf courses being established, the vast majority of which being free to play. The PDGA tour began, with competions being help across North America offering cash prizes and sponsorships deals.

There has been a steady growth of participation in Disc Sports around the rest of world. Most large universities in the UK have Ultimate Frisbee clubs and take part in indoor and outdoor tournaments all year round throughout the UK and Europe. UKUA is the governing body for Ultimate.

There are currently 15 permanent Disc Golf courses in the UK. The BDGA holds a series of tournaments throughout the year.

The Disc Sports 4 Schools initiative (Catch the Spirit) has so far introduced Disc Sports into hundreds of schools and colleges in the UK. Many are now incorporating Disc Sports into the PE curriculum and have out of schools clubs and annual Disc Sports festivals.

The future of Disc Sports is an exciting prospect. Over the coming months and years more and more schools will be joining in. No doubt more Ultimate teams with emerge and more Disc Golf courses will be installed on public land. With help from a growing level of media interest, there will be an ever increasing awareness of the full range of Disc Sports and more people from all walks of like will join in. Who knows... one day we may even be blessed with Disc Sports in the Olypics!!!

 

Click here for a more detailed timeline of the evolution of Disc Sports.