Fred Morrison
Fred Morrison invented the Frisbee after passersby showed interest in the flying discs he and his girlfriend tossed around at the beach in California. After serving in World War II, he manufactured the first flying discs and sold them at local fairs, parks and beaches.
The Original Flying Disc
Before the Frisbee, Fred Morrison first tossed around a tin popcorn lid in 1937, and then switched to sturdier cake pans. In 1948 he started manufacturing molded, plastic discs he called Flyin' Saucers. By the mid-1950s he changed the name to Pluto Platters.
"Frisbies"
College students in New England had the same idea as Morrison. While he developed his flying discs, these coeds were tossing around pie tins they called Frisbies, from the Frisbie Pie Company in Connecticut.
Wham-O
Morrison sold the rights to his invention to the Wham-O Company in 1957. The company changed the name of the Pluto Platter to Frisbee a few months later. Frisbee is now a trademark-protected name. Morrison continued to collect royalties on his invention until his death in 2010.