As cats are always happy to demonstrate, the simplest container or bit of string or laser light can bring hours of frenzied enjoyment. Now that we are two weeks into a new year, I must admit that I find my enthusiasm for simple pleasures increasing. And what could be simpler than chasing a frisbee? Notice I specified “chasing,” not “catching.” But I digress.

In case you haven’t thought much about tossing frisbees lately, a frisbee is a plastic, oval shaped disc that can be tossed. A flick of the thrower’s wrist sends the disc spiraling towards a person, or a dog, who attempts to catch it. This simple activity is why the frisbee has outsold every toy except the oldest historical toy — the ball. Balls have been around for over 3,000 years. The official frisbee has been around since 1957, but the first recorded use of “flying ovals” was in 1871.

The First Frisbie

That’s not a typo in the heading. The first Frisbee was actually called a Frisbie after the Frisbie Pie Company. According to this origin story, William Frisbie opened the Frisbie Pie Company in Bridgeport CT in 1871 to sell pies. Nearby colleges, particularly Yale, were among his customers. The students enjoyed the pies, and after eating the pies, they enjoyed tossing the empty pie tins to each other. When a student let go of the pie tin, he yelled, “Frisbie.” If the origin story ended here, throwing Frisbees might have never become a national pastime.

From Popcorn Lids to Cake Tins: The Prototype

In 1937 Walter Frederick Morrison, a 17-year-old high school student, spent Thanksgiving with his girlfriend’s family. After the meal, Lucille introduced her boyfriend to a family game called “flipping.” Players tossed the lids from tubs of popcorn. The lids could glide in a flat, curved, or boomerang trajectory. Unfortunately, the lids didn’t hold their shape, and once the lid was dented, it didn’t fly very well. Undaunted, Walter replaced the popcorn lids with cake pans.

One day, Walter and Lucille took their cake pans to the Santa Monica beach. After a few games, someone approached them and asked if they would sell the cake pan for 25 cents. A pan only cost a nickel. Walter quickly realized he had a good business opportunity, and began selling Flying Cake Pans for a quarter each.

Frisbees by WHAM-O

In 1955 Walter sold his invention, now called the Pluto Platter to Wham-O, and on January 23, 1957, the same year the hula hoop was invented, Wham-O produced the first “modern” Frisbees. This month marks the Frisbee’s 69th birthday. You don’t see hula hoops much any more, but frisbees are everywhere.

Wham-O released their new toy, called the Frisbee Disk in 1958. Company designer Ed Headlock made a few improvements by adding so-called rings to the surface to stabilize flight. Wham-O marketed frisbee playing as a new sport. More games using frisbees were soon invented, including one of the most popular games: Frisbee Golf. Players throw the frisbee at a target from a teeing area. The course has up to ten holes. The game is so popular there is an International Disc Golf Association.

Just as popular is Ultimate Frisbee, called Ultimate because the name Frisbee is still under copyright with Wham-O. Ultimate is a non-contact international team sport governed by the World Flying Disk Federation. The sport is played in 103 countries and was under consideration for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. In 2022, Ultimate was removed from consideration for the 2028 Olympic Games.

Tossing frisbees has become like throwing a football in the backyard after Thanksgiving dinner or shooting hoops by the garage: an enjoyable pastime overshadowed by professional sports.

The frisbee was part of the first class inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998. Other members of the inaugural class were the Barbie doll, Erector Set, Teddy Bear, Hula Hoop, Crayola Crayons, Etch-A-Sketch, Monopoly, Tinkertoy, Play-Doh, Marbles, and Legos.

I started this blog thinking about “simple pleasures.” Turns out frisbees aren’t as simple as I thought. There’s a definite skill set involved, and no-doubt very focused players. But the image of tossing a plastic disk to another person for no reason except enjoyment still stirs my imagination.

Why I’m Still Blogging

For those of you who enjoy statistics, this is my 16^th year of blogging and my 535^th blog. I enjoy writing blogs, because when I’m in the middle of a writing project, putting together a blog gives me a different focus and a sense of completion. This year’s post will continue my whimsical investigations inspired by my research, travels, and items that simply catch my eye, like frisbees, for example.

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The Life & Times of Sarah Good, Accused Witch

Now Available as an Audiobook Narrated by Christa Lewis

Illustrations & A Few Sources

Cat in a Box by Lucus; Russell Terrior by Hynek Moravec; Frisbie Pie Tin by Doug Coldwell; Velina Plays Frisbee at the Beach by Velinassecretsnoflake; Wham-O Company Logo by dnh52; Wham-O Frisbee, Public Domain; Disk Golf Scottish Open 2007 by Conor Lawless; Ultimate Player Catching Frisbee by BecAM12; Frisbee Spielen in Meer by Sobot by Arquus. “50 Years Later, Frisbee Still Flying High.” The Virginian-Pilot. May 27, 2007. Troy Brownfield. “The Surprisingly Complicated History of the Frisbee.” The Saturday Evening Post. Sept. 10, 2021.

The post Playing Frisbee: From Pie Tins to International Sports first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

March Madness, the biggest collegiate basketball tournament of the year, is in full swing. Some might say the entire game of basketball is somewhat “mad,” an invented game of known origins. I use “mad” in the English sense: being of unsound mind or mad as a March hare. [More on the hare, later.] In NCAA basketball, the madness is in the victories of low seeded teams who aren’t expected to win.

THE GAME

Dr. James Naismith invented basketball in 1891 to cure boredom among physical education students in the School for Christian Workers. The New England winter in Springfield, Massachusetts kept them from their usual strenuous outdoor games. Indoor activities of calisthenics and gymnastics weren’t team sports. They didn’t emphasize quick movements and agility.

Naismith’s boss gave him two weeks to come up with an indoor team sport. He based his new game on “Duck-on-a-Rock” in which players threw stones to hit a target placed on a large boulder.

Naismith nailed two peach baskets to a balcony railings ten feet above opposite ends of the gym floor. A soccer ball was pressed into service, and the game began.

Modifications followed quickly. It was too cumbersome to stop play after every goal so the referee could climb a ladder and retrieve the ball. So the baskets lost their bottoms. In 1896 backboards appeared behind the baskets so fans couldn’t interfere with the ball. Open rims replaced the baskets and nets slowed down the ball.

The game was a hit. High school and collegiate teams formed throughout the country.

THE MADNESS BEGINS

In 1908 the Illinois High School Association began a statewide basketball tournament. In 1939 one of the state officials, Henry Porter, wrote an article for their in-house magazine. He called it “March Madness.”

“A little March madness may complement and contribute

to sanity and help keep society on an even keel.”*

In 1982 a CBS sports broadcaster used the term during network coverage of an NCAA tournament. “March Madness” began to spread. In 1989 the Illinois High School Associated applied to trademark “March Madness.”

The IHSA sued the NCAA in 1996 to stop an NCAA corporate partner from distributing a CD-ROM game with the words March Madness in the title. The NCAA argued it had a common law trademark on the phrase and could therefore license it. The court upheld the NCAA argument.

MARCH MADNESS IS NOW

March Madness 2017 began March 12 with Selection Sunday. The single elimination tournament is between 68 Division-1 college basketball teams. The champions from the 32 Division-1 conferences have automatic slots. An NCAA Select Committee names the remaining 36 teams. These are then divided into four regions with a single elimination bracket. Each team is seed ranked. Madness occurs when a lower ranked team defeats a team ranked significantly higher or manages to stay in the competition longer than expected. Eventually the teams are reduced to a Sweet Sixteen and then a Final Four. Finally one team takes all.

MORE MADNESS

Publicity for small schools with a low ranking that can defeat a top ranking school or stay in competition longer than expected is extensive. Their public profile goes up. Google searches spike. In 2013, for example, Wichita State University saw a 29 percent application increase after its “Shockers” made it into the Final Four as the Number Nine seed. Successful schools have increased sales for their sports related apparel. And, enthusiastic alumni often increase their donations.

MADDEST OF ALL

Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway offers lucrative opportunities to basketball fans. In 2014 Buffett said he would give $1 billion to anyone who could correctly pick the 63 winners in March Madness. Winnings would be paid in annual installments of $25 million, or as a lump sum payment of $500 million. No one won the money, but Buffett accrued a public relations coup.

This year Buffett is running a contest for the 367,000 employees of Berkshire Hathaway. Any employee who can pick the Sweet Sixteen will win $1 million for life. Buffett will award $100,000 to the person that goes the furthest even if s/he doesn’t correctly name all sixteen. Last year two employees tied, each receiving $50,000.

MAD AS A MARCH HARE

Our final topic, as promised is the March hare. Truly mad or the victim of bad publicity?

The so-called March hare is a hare in the throws of mating season. The phrase has been in use since 1500. Though breeding season lasts from January through August, March is an unusual month. Normally nocturnal males become active during the day. Dominant males fight for status. Uninterested females fight off suitors. The hares stand upright and attack each other with their paws. When the female is ready, she initiates a chase until only one male remains.

WHAT THEN IS MARCH MADNESS?

March Madness. (noun) 1. Occurring in the month of March. 2. Unusual behavior as in the mating rituals of hares. 3. Activity which upsets the norm as in a low seeded collegiate basketball team defeating a better placed opponent. 4. A gamble on predicting which teams will go forward in an NCAA Division-1 basketball tournament

???

* Quoted by Brendan Koerner IN “Why is it called March Madness?” Slate. March 16, 2010.

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Illustrations from Wikimedia Commons.

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Frankie Jackson, from Wilmington N.C., with 3-38th HRC, passes the ball as his team, the All Stars play against team Thunder Cats in the final game of the Garrison March Madness tournament held at the Camp Liberty field house March 18-27. Public Domain.

Calisthenics. 10 Minute Exercise. 1916. No Known Copyright Restrictions.

James Naismith. Public Domain.

Basketball print in The Triangle. Jan. 15, 1892. Public Domain.

First Basketball Team, University of Kansas. 1899. Public Domain.

Warren Buffett by Mark Hirschey. Creative Commons Attribution.

Hare by Bruno Liljefors. Public Domain.

History of Basketball. Sports. KnowHow.com.

History of Basketball. Kansas Heritage.

Kurt Badehauben. “Warren Buffett’s 2017 March Madness Bracket Contest: $1 Million a Year for Life.” Forbes. Feb. 28, 2017.

Kelly Phillips Erb. “Warren Buffett Offers $1 Billion for Perfect March Madness Bracket.” Forbes. Jan. 21, 2014.

Polly Mosendz, Dashiel Bennet, & Lance Lambert. “March Madness Cinderella Stories Send Applications Soaring.” Bloomberg. March 13, 2017.

The post THE MADNESS OF MARCH first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Baseball has teams of nine players. The playing field has a diamond shape. There are nine innings and numerous time outs, but no maximum time. Baseball players don’t wear spandex. In comparison to other athletes, they appear modest. The game itself is straightforward.

And yet, baseball is more than a game. It’s been called “America’s pastime.” A slow game symbolizing long summer days.

The Handsome Bloke monitors baseball teams, particularly the Seattle Mariners, closely. He often has colorful comments to make to the team manager and various players. When the Mariners win, he is up. When they lose – well, that’s just plain depressing. That’s how I knew I’d finally found the perfect Christmas present – one week watching the Mariners play Spring Training Games in Arizona.

We went last week. Here are some of the highlights.

The Cactus League

There are fifteen teams in the Cactus League, founded in 1947 by the Cleveland Indians and New York Giants. Together they’ve created what’s said to be the greatest concentration of professional baseball facilities in the U.S. We followed the Mariners for five games.

Game 1

LA Angels vs. Seattle Mariners at the Peoria Sports Complex Stadium

Peoria Sports Complex is the oldest facility, built in 1994. The Mariners share the venue with the San Diego Padres, alternating their playing days. It’s a comfortable and appealing complex. Sitting behind third base, I was struck by how lush the grass looked – when everything outside was drab and dry. The Mariners won 5:3.

Game 2

Seattle Mariners against the Cleveland Indians at the Goodyear Ball Park.

The Goodyear Ball Park has 8,000 stadium seats, 1500 lawn seats, 6 luxury suites, terrance seating on the third level behind home plate, and 500 seats in the Right Field Pavilion. They also have palm trees, which for some reason I found disconcerting.

The Cleveland Indians share facilities with the Cincinnati Reds. Both teams transferred to the Cactus League from their Florida training venues in 2009.

Mariners lost 3:6.

Game 3

Seattle Mariners against the Cincinnati Reds, also at Goodyear Ball Park.

This time the Mariners prevailed 6:5

Game 4

Seattle Mariners against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Glendale Camelback Ranch. This was a nostalgic game for me. My grandfather was a great Dodgers fan, and took me to a few games. I think that’s when I concluded that baseball was synonymous with a good time – and perhaps too much cotton candy.

The Dodgers share Camelback with the Chicago White Sox. The stadium has 10,500 seats with an additional 3,000 lawn seats. It’s also unique, because the diamond is opposite to the layout of the other diamonds. Some said this was why there was so much less shade than at the other venues.

In this game, the Mariners prevailed 4:1.

 Game 5

Mariners versus the Cleveland Indians back at the Peoria Sports Complex.  This time our seats were behind home plate, hence the netting.

Netting, of course, is no guarantee of safety. Foul balls go where they will. Hence the warning signs placed throughout all the stadiums.

I couldn’t help but wonder why the sign advised us to beware of “objects” leaving the playing field. What, other than foul balls, should we watch for? Splintered bats, perhaps? Could be.

Photos by Author. All Rights Reserved.

For more information:

The Cactus League  http://cactusleague.com

Camelback Ranch Baseball  http://web.camelbackranchbaseball.com/

Goodyear Ball Park  http://goodyearbp.com

Peoria Sports Complex http://peoriasportscomplex.com

Seattle Mariners http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/ 

The post BASEBALL – Symbol of Summer first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.