A Connecticut baker named William Russel Frisbee came up with a clever marketing idea back in the 1870s. He put his name in relief on the bottom of the light tin pans in which his company’s homemade pies were sold. Eventually Mr. Frisbee’s pies were sold throughout much of the state, including New Haven.
There, sometime in the 1940s, Yale students began sailing the pie tins through the air and catching them. A decade or so later, out in California, a flying-saucer enthusiast named Walter Frederick Morrison designed a saucer-like disk for playing catch. It was produced by a company named Wham-O. On a promotional tour of college campuses, the president of Wham-O (who presumably also used all three of his names) encountered the pie-plate-tossing craze at Yale. And so the flying saucer from California was renamed after a pie plate from Connecticut. All this so we could enjoy the sport in Central Park.
Favorite spots in the park for tossing a Frisbee about include The Great Hill, The Great Lawn and the Sheep Meadow.
Field Day Kits can be borrowed at the North Meadow Recreation Center which include, among a variety of sports equipment, a Frisbee. Kits may be checked out with valid photo ID.
FYI – On the Great Lawn and Sheep Meadow it is suggested that Frisbee tosses be limited to two participants
About Central Park
Find all the information you need to enjoy your visit to New York City’s iconic Central Park.
Attractions
Central Park features 843 acres filled with classic architecture, gorgeous statuary and up to date sports, educational and performance facilities. Besides all of this there is the world famous Central Park Zoo and Wildlife Center and the Children’s Zoo.
Things To Do
From The Philharmonic on the Great Lawn to Shakespeare in the Park to SummerStage, Central Park offers an endless array of things to do, see, hear – and, with two full service restaurants and several cafes, taste. You can visit The Shakespeare Garden, take in a performance at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater, take a ride on the Carousel – or just sit and people watch at Bethesda Terrace!
Contact Us
Contact Info
5th Ave.
New York, NY, 10028