"Steady" Ed's Disc Golf and Frisbee Patents

“Steady” Ed has many accolades to his credit including being recognized throughout the sport as the “father of disc golf”. He developed the sport while working for the Wham-O Corporation in the 1970’s. At Wham-O, Ed was CEO and is credited with the original patent for the Frisbee®. Ed has obtained several patents for disc catching devices and has provided approx. 70% of these products for the sport over the past 25 years.

Frisbee Patent 1966 -Adobe Acrobat file (pdf). 327KB
Mach I Patent 1977 - Adobe Acrobat file (pdf). 171KB
Mach II Patent 1984 - Adobe Acrobat file (pdf). 403KB
Mach III Patent 1988 - Adobe Acrobat file (pdf). 398KB
Mach V Patent 1999 - Adobe Acrobat file (pdf). 235KB

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In the early steel age sharpened rings were thrown with devastating effect. They flew with accuracy, caused serious injury and looked like the modern Aerobie®. Then came the ancient word “scaling” (to throw a thin flat object), so that its edge cuts through the air. Pie pans, film can lids and toy flying saucers were the recent predecessors of the modern Frisbee which was invented in 1964 by Ed Headrick, US Patent 3,359,678. He also formed the International Frisbee association which had over 112,000 members by 1972.

Since that time Disc Golf evolved from mans natural competitive nature. Early games used targets of trees, trash cans, light poles, chicken wire baskets, pipes and coeds. The game was formalized when Headrick invented the first Pole Hole, catching devise, consisting of 10 chains hanging in a parabolic shape over an upward opening basket, US Patent 4,039,189, issued in 1977. The first formal Disc Golf Course was designed and installed that same year in Oak Grove Park (Pasadena California), by Headrick and was an instant success. He also founded the Professional Disc Golf Association in 1975 which he turned over to the players in 1983.

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