Interview

Mr. Walter "Fred" Morrison

 

FDC: What got you interested in "things that fly"?
WM: In L.A., way back, in Junior High School I used to peddle my bike to the Glendale Airport every Saturday morning, stand behind a fence and watch the planes come and go. One day, a man washing his private plane asked if I'd help him. I didn't have to be asked twice I jumped the fence and got to swabbing. When the plane was washed he said: "let's go fly this thing and dry it off". That flight did it; I was hooked anything that might fly.

FDC: What were some of your hobbies as a child?
WM: Never had what would be considered to be a hobby. As a kid in Utah I made and flew kites. I also learned to fold sheets of paper into flyable paper airplanes. I got pretty good at it. Still do it on occasion.

FDC: How did you come up with the idea for a "Frisbee"?
WM: The Idea for plastic "flittin' discs" came some years after a 1937 Thanksgivings Day dinner. That day the girl I was squiring and I were introduced to a large popcorn can lid that would fly when flipped away backhanded. We really enjoyed the experience and continued to go about "flipping". Pop Corn can lids were hard to come by so Cake Pans became the toy of our choice. We became so proficient with the Pans people would buy 'em. During 1946 I designed, and with a partner (financier) had molded a plastic flyable disc (1948). The media was reporting a lot of Flying Saucers at the time so it seemed logical to call the new disc a "Flyin'-Saucer". In 1955 I designed an improved version of the Saucer that was meant to look like a spacecraft; called it a Pluto Platter (after the newest found planet). The Platters were, indeed, an improvement over the Saucers.

FDC: Is there anyone who deserves credit where credit is due?
WM: There definitely was a someone that deserves credit, the girl I was flippin' that popcorn can lid with that 1937 Thanksgiving Day. Without her input and willingness to gamble on our introducing the Saucers and the Platters there may never have evolved the Frisbees. That gal deigned to marry me early in the relationship. Her name is / was Lucile "Lu" Morrison. She should be, and hasn't been, recognized as the other inventor of Plastic Flyin' Discs.

FDC: Did you file for the patent yourself?
WM: Wham-o actually did the filing (1957). The patent was issued in my name during 1958 ( a design patent good for six years).

FDC: What was your most memorable Frisbee experience?
WM: It was during the late 70's at the Rose Bowl International Frisbee Tournament. I was asked to address the forty thousand fans in the stands. With the mike in one hand and a Frisbee in the other my message was succinct: "Beware of cheap imitations". Got a standing "O".

FDC: Tell us why you chose Utah as your home?
WM:  I was born in Richfield, Utah. The family moved to Los Angeles when I was 11. In 1982 I could afford to relocate to the pristine environment of my birth, away from L.A.'s traffic and smog. Once here I bought the airport, a large motel and raced quarter horses. All that's gone by the board now. I'm living on twenty-three acres of primarily sagebrush, in a doublewide, on the sunny slopes of, and in the shade of, 11,000 ft. MT. MANURE (really Cove Mountain).

FDC: What are you up to these days?
WM: I've written a book that's about to be published. The title is: "Flat Flip Flies Straight". It's the factual history of the discs as I lived it. The 50 chapters are generally autobiographical but the pictures, and there's lots of 'em, will offset the "I" trouble.

FDC: Do you play Frisbee now?
WM: If I'm somewhere where people are flippin' 'em I may retrieve an crashed disc and give it a flip. The mystique has never worn off.

FDC: What's your favorite throw (flip)?
WM: The good ol' backhand flip of the wrist.

FDC: Did you ever own a Frisbee dog?
WM: Yes, a German Shepherd named Baron. He could catch 'em but couldn't flip 'em worth a damn. The rim always hung up on a fang.

FDC: Do you have any more ambitions?
WM: Yes... to live to see the book Number One on the book lists.

We thank Mr. Morrison for developing his idea for plastic flying discs. Frisbees continues to bring joy to millions of people around the globe. He will soon have his "History of the Frisbees" published. We're planning to be the first to own a first edition of "Flat Flip Flies Straight".

We will have it available to purchase on the FDC.