The flying disc was developed in 1948 by Walter Morrison. In 1957 January 13, Wham-O bought the rights to the invention and released it later under the trademarked name Frisbee.
Although playing catch with discs as a pastime and proto-golf games are documented from the early 1900s, and doubtlessly has occurred from time to time before, disc sports began to flower in the late 1960s. As numbers of young people became alienated from social norms, they resisted and looked for alternative recreational activities, including that of throwing a frisbee.[1] What started with a few players, in the sixties, like Victor Malafronte, Z Weyand and Ken Westerfield experimenting with new ways of throwing and catching a disc, later would become known as playing disc freestyle.[2] Organized disc sports, in the 1970s, began with promotional efforts from Wham-O and Irwin Toy (Canada). These took the form of national tournaments and Frisbee show tours at universities, fairs and sporting events. Disc sports such as disc freestyle, double disc court, disc guts, ultimate and disc golf became this sports first events.[3][4] Two sports, the team sport of ultimate and disc golf are very popular worldwide and are now being played semi-professionally.[5][6] The World Flying Disc Federation, Professional Disc Golf Association, and the Freestyle Players Association, are the official sanctioning organizations for disc sports worldwide.
Disc guts was invented by the Healy Brothers in the 1950s and developed at the International Frisbee Tournament (IFT) in Marquette, Michigan. Ultimate, the most widely played disc sport, began in the late 1960s with Joel Silver and Jared Kass. In the 1970s it developed as an organized sport with the creation of the Ultimate Players Association with Dan Roddick, Tom Kennedy and Irv Kalb. Double disc court was invented and introduced in the early 1970s by Jim Palmeri. In 1974, disc freestyle competition was created and introduced by Ken Westerfield and DiscraftsJim Kenner.[7] Judging standards were developed by the Freestyle Players Association. In 1976, the game of disc golf was standardized with targets called “pole holes” invented and developed by Wham-O‘s Ed Headrick and the Professional Disc Golf Association.[8]
Beginning in 1974, the International Frisbee Association (IFA), under the direction of Dan Roddick, became the regulatory organization for all of these sports.
