Disc Dog
Where did the Frisbee™ come from? And how did dogs catching Frisbees™ become a thing? Read on!
The Frisbie Baking Company was established in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1871. They sold pies until 1958. The pie tins were stamped “Frisbie’s Pies.” College students soon discovered that you could toss and catch the empty tins as a game or sport.
Los Angeles building inspectors Walter Morrison and Warren Franscioni created a plastic version of the Frisbie pie tin in 1948. It flew further and could be aimed more accurately. But Morrison and Franscioni split up before commercializing the idea.
After the split, Morrison produced a plastic model called the Flying Saucer. UFOs were a hot topic at the time because of a highly publicized 1947 event in Roswell, New Mexico. It was later renamed the Pluto Platter.
Morrison’s design became the basis for all Frisbie designs. The outer third of the disc is even described as the "Morrison Slope" in the patent.
Wham-O Toy Company
Wham-O Toy Company bought the rights for the Pluto Platter in 1955. It was renamed Frisbee™ (a variation of the baking company’s name) and marketed as a sport.
Frisbees™ “flew” out of the factory and Morrison received over one million dollars in royalties. New sports such as Ultimate Frisbee and Frisbee golf added to the demand.
Wham-O eventually sold the rights to Mattel after selling over one hundred million units.
Disc Dog?
47 years ago, on August 5, 1974, disc dog was introduced to the world on national television during a Monday Night Baseball game.
Near the end of a 6–3 Dodgers victory over the Reds, Ashley (a Whippet) and owner Alex Stein made their way onto the field. They were uninvited and unannounced.
According to Los Angeles Times reporter Jeff Prugh, “The crowd got impromptu entertainment before the ninth inning when a pet dog scampered into left field and repeatedly made leaping catches — with its teeth — of a blue Frisbee™ tossed by two youthful male fans. Four catches — and a near miss later, the dog and fans were escorted back into the left-field seats.”
The crowd cheered for minutes, and the players actually sat down during the short exhibition. And yes, Alex was later arrested.
Not long after, Alex and Ashley Whippet were invited to perform during halftime at the Rams vs. Bills NFL game. The rest is history.
International Championship
The fur was indeed flying at the recent Labor Day weekend Ashley Whippet Invitational competition in Naperville. This is the original and longest-running disc dog competition in the world, dating back to 1975.
Naperville has played host since 2003, thanks to resident Tom Wehrli, a member of the Ashley Whippet Hall of Fame. Tom is a three-time World finalist in this competition.
Tom was kind enough to provide background on the sport for my blog. Be sure to visit his site at Ashley Whippet Museum for everything Ashley Whippet.
A few of the Hall of Famers gather at the museum.
Ron Ellis, Ed Jakubowski, Alex Stein, Tom Wehrli, and Chuck Middleton. Source: ashleywhippetmuseum.com
The Shot
Normally, if it’s man-made or it moves, I don’t photograph it. But this event sounded like an enjoyable challenge. It took hundreds of shots before I even got close to anticipating and catching a “decisive moment.” This shot is my favorite.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus