Words BY ALI FRANCIS
Illustration NORMANDIE LUSCHER
Season Highlights: The Philly Spinners went under to the powerhouse Boston Whitecaps in week four. This week the New York Rumble announced their 2016 roster, with 20 rookies tasked to build a winning culture. And after traveling across to the Bay area to take on the San Francisco Dogfish , the Portland Stags returned home with tails between their legs—their fourth straight loss after a convincing win in their season opener.
Founded in 2012, Major League Ultimate (MLU) is one of two professional Frisbee leagues in North America. Each year, eight teams go head to head for the championship, currently held by the Boston Whitecaps. Dramatic spills, incredible game highlights, and feats of athleticism—it’s hard to imagine it all started at the helm of a humble bakery.
It was 1871. America’s bloodiest clash had finally come to an end. William Russell Frisbie had just moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut. The post Civil War economy was slowly reviving, and he was soon hired to manage a new bakery. William promptly bought the Olds Baking Company branch outright, renaming the eponymous empire: Frisbie Pie Company.
By 1950 they were selling 80, 000 units per day. But as popular as William’s pies became, the tins they came in would prove infinitely more so.
Frisbie manned the ovens until his death in 1903. Under his direction, the small company’s routes grew from six to 250—opening shops in Hartford, Poughkeepsie, and Providence. By 1950 they were selling 80, 000 units per day. But as popular as William’s pies became, the tins they came in would prove infinitely more so.
The circular metal pans were stamped on the underside, ‘Frisbie’s Pies.’ The requisite raised rim was imperative to the pie’s structural integrity. But as bakers found out on their lunch breaks, happened to prove superbly aerodynamic as well. By this stage William was trucking pies to restaurants and grocers throughout the Northeast, including neighboring Yale University.
In a campus full of budding academics, it didn’t take long for the tins’ cafeteria liberation. Tossed around in between classes, the activity became a popular study distraction—and Frisbie-ing (the verb) was born. But it wasn’t until fighter pilot Walter Frederick Morrison returned home after WWII that the student pastime really took flight.
It was 1948. Flying saucers, the infinite outer space, and extraterrestrial hypotheses were capturing imaginations across the globe.
It was 1948. Flying saucers, the infinite outer space, and extraterrestrial hypotheses were capturing imaginations across the globe. No stranger to the subtleties of aerodynamics, Morrison soon realized Frisbie’s tins would be lighter and more stable if they were made out of the commodity of the times: plastic. After the original Morrison’s Flyin’ Saucer, came The Pluto Platter—the basic design for all succeeding Frisbees.
Sales of Morrison’s toys remained fairly modest until absorbed by Californian Wham-O Company, the makers of the Hula Hoop, in 1957. Under their guidance, 300 million Frisbees (and counting) have been sold across the world. And as for the pie company that started it all? Demolished, and repurposed as a parking lot.
Sources: Atlas Obscura ; Major League Ultimate ; What is Ultimate?
Food for thought from our friends at Dirt—a home for sharing stories and meals. Head to Dirt.online to read more (because two hungry minds are always better than one).
