"Steady" Ed Headrick
Edward Early Headrick was born on June 28, 1924 and grew up in Pasadena, California. Ed was an inventor and innovator and could be regarded as someone who would not only "think outside the box" but someone who would redesign that box. His life experiences included traveling the deep seas as a diver/welder and being embedded behind enemy lines as an advanced military scout spying on the Nazi troop movements in World War II. He invented oil skimmers after seeing the destruction oil tanker spills left behind, and he shared Johnny Carson's stage as a toy inventor.
More than any of his many lifetime accomplishments Ed Headrick is most popularly remembered for a toy and a vision. The toy -the Frisbee- and Ed's vision led to the beginning of an industry and a lifetime devoted to creating disc sports that have become part of millions of peoples lives. Ed Headrick is known as the “Father of Frisbee”, “The Father of Disc Golf” "The Father of Disc Sports". In the world of Frisbee and Disc Golf, Ed was nicknamed “Steady” Ed for his composure and accuracy while making the toughest throws under pressure, traits he exhibited throughout his life.
History of the Frisbee
The roots of modern day disc sports began back in the ’60s after Ed left his job at Pioneer, a water heater and plumbing company. While working for Pioneer Ed came up with an idea that was unheard of at the time; he devised a network of plumbers across the United States that would guarantee that a Pioneer water heater or garbage disposal would be installed within 24 hours of being purchased. At Pioneer Ed had gone from Salesman to Vice-President, as Pioneer went from one of the smallest manufactures of hot water tanks and garbage disposals to one of the leading manufactures. Ed had a passion for inventing, marketing his ideas and playing. Ed decided that it was time to move on from Pioneer. Working for a toy company was what he saw as a perfect fit.
Wham-O toys was close to home but wasn't hiring at the time. Ed made an offer to Wham-O to work for free for 3 months unconditionally; if he proved himself an asset to the company, Wham-O would back pay him for his three months of work and then pay him what he was asking. Ed sold his unique employment proposal to Wham-O who agreed to hire him and set him to work on his first task of his 3 month trial period, to increase sales for a toy called the Pluto Platter, created by Fred Morrison and sold to Wham-O as part of the rights to his patent for the injection-molding Machine that produced the disc.
Ed found that the main problem with the Pluto Platter was that it was hard to control, would flip over, and was frustrating to anyone who wanted to actually throw at something or someone. Ed went about completely reworking and redesigning the Pluto Platter by adjusting the weight, rim height, shape, and diameter of the discs and changing the plastics used in manufacturing.
Invention of the Frisbee - How Did the Frisbee Get Its Name
Ed came across the name Frisbee from Yale University annual Frisbee Pan Flying Contest and he made an agreement with the Frisbee Pie Company in Connecticut to buy their name. Ed completed his initial redesigns and filed the Frisbee patent application highlighting the “Rings of Headrick”, that claimed the “rings” on top of the disc made the disc more stable in flight.
With a new Patent and a new look Ed went about changing the image of what was a toy to the professional model frisbee with the marketing, sales and advertising tenacity he is now famous for. Unfortunately for Ed he didn't make much on the Frisbee success other than the Gold Frisbee Medallion Wham-O gave him for his work. Fortunately for Fred Morrison he had a royalty clause in his contract with Wham-O which made him millions of dollars.
One of Ed's first steps in marketing the "Frisbee" was to create a sport for the toy. A toy's shelf life is short lived. A sport grows and can create it's own ecosystem. Ed created "The International Frisbee Association (IFA)" and began a membership drive starting with himself #001. As the IFA’s “Founder” Ed began establishing the standards for the various Frisbee tournament components such as Distance and Freestyle.
The sport took off quickly. Ed “rented” the Rose Bowl and got Pepsi to sponsor the First Rose Bowl World Frisbee championships. The tournament sports were standardized using the registered trademark "Frisbee" discs. From his marketing vision for the Pluto Platter Ed became the "Father of Disc Sports" and was the spark that lit the fire and the breath that fanned the flames.
Headrick coined and trademarked the term "Disc Golf" when formalizing the sport and invented the Disc Pole Hole, the first disc golf target to incorporate chains and a basket on a pole. Headrick founded the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), Disc Golf Association (DGA), and Recreational Disc Golf Association (RDGA) as governing bodies for professional, competitive amateur, and family-oriented play, respectively, and worked on standardizing the rules and the equipment for the quickly-growing sport. Headrick abandoned his trademark on the term "Disc Golf", and turned over control and administration of the PDGA to the growing body of disc golf players in order to focus his passion for building and inventing equipment for the sport.
Headrick Memorial Museum
Upon his death in August 2002, Ed Headrick was cremated and his ashes were molded into a limited number of discs per his wishes. The discs were given to friends and family, and some were sold with all proceeds going toward funding the "Steady" Ed Memorial Disc Golf Museum at the PDGA International Disc Golf Center in Columbia County, Georgia. One of the discs that contains Headrick's ashes was thrown on to the roof of the center by his wife Farina at the grand opening to fulfill the addage, "Old Frisbee players are like old Frisbee's ... They don't die, they just land up on the roof."
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