October 10, 2007
By JOHN MARSHALL, The Associated Press
It happens at nearly every family function: someone creates a game to pass the time while the turkey is in the oven.
That's the way the story goes with the Frisbee -- according to company lore, Los Angeles building inspector Fred Morrison started flipping a popcorn lid around at a Thanksgiving Day picnic back in 1937, and a rec-sports revolution was born.
Two decades later, Morrison, who won the first patent for his plastic flying disc, sold it to a new company called Wham-o.
It's been 50 years since Wham-o introduced what was then called the "Pluto Platter" to the public, changing its name to "Frisbee" the following year. (There are several claims to the origin of the flying disc, but the Morrison/Wham-o version holds exclusive rights to the "Frisbee" name.)
JOHN MARSHALL follows the half-century flight path of the Frisbee in this asap interactive by PETER HAMLIN.
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See the interactive here: http://asap.ap.org/data/interactives/_sports/frisbee/
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John Marshall is asap's sports reporter, based in Denver.
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