On This Day: Ultimate Frisbee Game Was First Publicized

On this day (June 21) in 1969, the sport of ultimate Frisbee was first publicized in a Newark Evening News article. Columbia High School student Joel Silver, contributing as a "Special Writer" for The Newark Evening News, introduced the team game of Frisbee (without ever mentioning it by name) to the people of New Jersey in a story entitled "Frisbee Flippers Form Teams."

From the article:
"There is a new sport at Columbia High School (CHS) in Maplewood-frisbee. Every day, students from the 10th through 12th grades take part in the newly popular game. Though many may consider the sport to be immature, these high school students are joining the thousands of other people in the country who are enjoying the fun and exercise of the game."

The inaugural game played in the springtime between the two CHS teams - the Council (included president of CHS Student Council) versus the Columbian team (sponsored by the CHS newspaper) - was mentioned:

"In the first meeting between the teams, the Columbian team won by an 11-7 margin."

Silver boasts:

"A number of frisbee-ers hold varying degrees in the International Frisbee Association."

The Newark Evening News was an American newspaper published in Newark, New Jersey. At its apex, the newspaper was widely regarded as the newspaper of record in New Jersey. Its last issue was printed on August 31, 1972.


[H/T Ultimate: The First Four Decades]