The History of Ultimate Frisbee

By popular demand, I will be doing a post on the history and subculture of Ultimate Frisbee (and by "popular demand" I mean that one person mentioned once that I should do it... I obviously don't need much convincing)

Frisbee's were first conceptualized by college students throwing around upside-down pie tins from their college dining service (that happened to be made by Frisbe Pie Co.). Subsequently, the college students started calling their new toys "Frisbe."

Frank Morrison made a plastic version in 1958 that he sold to Wham-o Toy Company (also makers of the slip-n-slide). He originally wanted it to be called the Flying Saucer... but Wham-o used "Frisbee" instead. Changing the spelling for Copyright reasons. As Frisbees became more popular, it became the sport of choice for hippies in the 60s because of their newness and the chill way they flew through the air.

Ultimate Frisbee was  invented by a charismatic high schooler named Joe Silver in 1968. Ironically, he mostly made it up and popularized it in his school as a spoof for the School news paper to write about in the sports section. He called it "ultimate frisbee" because it was a blend of so many sports, and he made a pamphlet with the rules. As frisbee became popular in Columbia high school they started challenging other schools. As those kids graduated, they brought the sport to their respective colleges. By 1975, the rules of Ultimate were included in every Wham-o frisbee and the game spread like wildfire.


IN 1979, the UPA or Ultimate Players Association was formed. Fun Fact: you are not supposed to call the Sport Ultimate Frisbee anymore, just Ultimate, because of the Copyright that Wham-o has on the word Frisbee. In fact, UPA does not use Wham-o disks for tournaments anymore, they use DisCraft. Serious players will actually pick on you if you bring a Wham-o disk to a tournament. The UPA created an official rulebook and has set up leagues at all different levels in the United States.

What sets Ultimate apart is the "Spirit of the Game" clause of the rules. Ultimate doesn't have any referees, even at the higher levels. Players call their own fouls. Essentially, Spirit of the Game emphasizes Coolness, Camaraderie, and fair play over winning.

Ultimate is now a legitimate sport with alternative roots... resulting in some quirky idiosyncrasies. The best way for me to describe this is to tell a quick tale. My team was once beat at a Halloween tournament by a team from RIT that was playing in old prom dresses, singing songs, and drinking beer like Gatorade on the sideline. They weren't disrespecting us and they were certainly taking the game seriously. They were excellent players, but they came with all the oddities of an Ultimate Team.