Getting Airborne
Later I asked Kenner about the story.
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What made the story believable was that Wham-O, which makes Frisbee discs, used to sponsor demos by two early free-style champions during halftime at NBA games. One of their best tricks was to stand on one baseline and throw huge, curving shots that turned upside down before they went into the basket at the other end of the court. The crowds would go nuts, unaware that this shot, which is often used in disc golf, is much less magical than it looks.
Kenner and McColl probably wouldn’t mind a little mythmaking if it drew attention to disc sports and their company. They started Discraft in 1978 in Walled Lake, a suburb of Detroit, because they were unhappy with the discs Wham-O made. “The rims were too sharp and everyone suffered from ‘Frisbee finger,’” says McColl, referring to the raw spot you’d get after throwing for a while.
