Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Arthur "Spud'' Melin, toy executive who gave world Frisbee, Hula Hoop, dies
Associated Press | June 29, 2002

Posted on 06/29/2002 8:25:26 PM PDT by HAL9000

COSTA MESA, California, Jun 29, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Arthur "Spud" Melin, co-founder of the toy company that introduced the world to the Frisbee, Hula Hoop and other faddish gems of American pop culture, has died. He was 77 and had Alzheimer's disease.

Melin, who started toy giant Wham-O in 1948 with his boyhood friend Richard Knerr, died Friday.

"No sensation has ever swept the country like the Hula Hoop," author Richard Johnson wrote in his book "American Fads." "(It) remains the standard against which all national crazes are measured."

Melin and Knerr started with slingshots and named their mail-order company after the sound a slingshot made when its projectile struck a target. They branched into other sporting goods, including pellet guns, crossbows and daggers.

They added toys in 1955, when building inspector Fred Morrison sold them a plastic flying disc he had developed after watching Yale University students toss pie tins. Wham-O began selling the disc they called the "Pluto Platter" two years later before modifying it and renaming it the "Frisbee."

"We didn't want it used as a toy, we wanted it to be a sport," Melin said in a 1998 interview with the Pasadena Star-News.

In 1958, as Frisbee sales took off, an Australian toy manufacturer visited Wham-O's factory in the Los Angeles suburb of San Gabriel. He gave company officials an impromptu lesson in how to use a rattan hoop imported from Australia.

Wham-O began selling the Hula Hoop a short time later and eventually would sell 25 million of them.

Melin retired when Wham-O was sold to Kransco Group Cos. in 1982. Mattel Inc. bought the company in 1994. A group of investors then bought Wham-O back from Mattel in 1997 for about dlrs 20 million and relaunched many of its best-known toys, including the Slip 'N Slide.

Melin is survived by his wife, Suzy; five daughters; a brother; and 11 grandchildren.

Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved



TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: frisbee; hulahoop; whamo

1 posted on 06/29/2002 8:25:26 PM PDT by HAL9000
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: HAL9000
Wasn't he a Muncie boy? And he had all that unpleasantness with Paul Newman.
2 posted on 06/29/2002 8:27:41 PM PDT by SoDak
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000
I heard that the guy who wrote "the Hokey Pokey" died recently as well. It was a hassle getting his body into the casket though, you see they put his right foot in, and then..
3 posted on 06/29/2002 8:32:34 PM PDT by jz638
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: jz638
If I was a tasteful person I would scold you.

But I'm not, so I won't.

4 posted on 06/29/2002 8:39:31 PM PDT by Eagle Eye
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000
And also let's remember that other great Wham-O product, the Super Ball, one of my childhood favorites.
5 posted on 06/29/2002 8:40:01 PM PDT by RedsHunter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000
Melin and Knerr got to stay boys forever and make money at it, just by bringing people fun.
6 posted on 06/29/2002 8:43:33 PM PDT by Bonaparte
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: RedsHunter
I was amazed when the superball came out. A chemical engineer accidentally "invented" that stuff and didn't know what to do with it except sell it to Wham-O, who figured out how to keep it round.
7 posted on 06/29/2002 8:46:36 PM PDT by Bonaparte
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: jz638
I heard that the guy who wrote "the Hokey Pokey" died recently as well. It was a hassle getting his body into the casket though, you see they put his right foot in, and then..

You're bad, really bad! LOL!

8 posted on 06/29/2002 8:54:38 PM PDT by xJones
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000
My father's business was just north of Wham-o across the tracks in San Gabriel. The owners would go to El Gordo Restaurant on Las Tunas all the time along with Dad and his customers and I on occasion. I remember one day they (owners of Wham-o) Walked into the bar with double handfuls of 'Super Balls',and threw them. Those damned things bounced EVERYWHERE! There must have been 40 broken glasses, spilled drinks etc. It was a HOOT! That was the first TRUE intro of the 'Super Ball'.

Nam Vet

9 posted on 06/29/2002 8:56:33 PM PDT by Nam Vet
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eagle Eye
I will!! Your bad (but funny.)

Same to you Eagle Eye!!!!
10 posted on 06/29/2002 8:59:20 PM PDT by lizma
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: RedsHunter; Bonaparte
ping
11 posted on 06/29/2002 8:59:21 PM PDT by Nam Vet
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: SoDak

You know. For the kids.

12 posted on 06/29/2002 9:03:03 PM PDT by nunya bidness
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: jz638
I heard that the guy who wrote "the Hokey Pokey" died recently as well. It was a hassle getting his body into the casket though, you see they put his right foot in, and then....

oh fer cryin' in a bucket.... =^)

13 posted on 06/29/2002 9:04:16 PM PDT by InkStone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Nam Vet
That was a great reminiscence, NV! Thanks for the ping!
14 posted on 06/29/2002 9:10:40 PM PDT by Bonaparte
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000
All the great ones are leaving us now.

Does the inventor of the lawn dart yet live?

15 posted on 06/29/2002 11:17:45 PM PDT by Mike Darancette
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000
Thought this would bring back memories:

"We didn't have a Slip N' Slide, so we made our own. Our first version, fashioned from 25 feet of Handi-Wrap, was a failure because the thin plastic clung to our wet bodies and sometimes obstructed our breathing holes. We then tried drenching the sidewalk with water, but after a few slides, our torsos resembled raw hamburger. Finally, we discovered that a flooded strip of lawn makes a satisfactory Slip N' Slide.

Unfortunately, one record-breaking slide ended tragically when the slider's head slammed against an avocado tree at the end of the strip. "BOSS SLIDE!" amazed spectators yelled after the feat. "Huh?" mumbled the confused slider, temporarily unable to understand speech because of his tree-related head injury.

When a group of concerned parents outlawed our homemade Slip N' Slide, we reluctantly resorted to my least favorite water toy, the Wham-O Water Wiggle, which terrified and traumatized an entire generation of children.

Powered by an ordinary garden hose, this demonic plaything flailed wildly around the yard, whipping, slapping and choking innocent children. One Saturday afternoon, Water Wiggle set his sights on me. He relentlessly chased me across the yard and into the street, completely ignoring several slower kids who were within easy striking distance. Just when I thought I was out of his hose range, he lunged and wrapped himself around my neck.

"TURN OFF THE WATER!" somebody screamed. "HE'S GOT MARK!!"

As the lifeblood slowly drained from his despicable conical head, Water Wiggle unwillingly loosened his stranglehold, never losing that insane smile. When I regained my composure, we resurrected the plastic psychopath for another assault. I don't know why we did it. We were crazy kids doing crazy things in crazy times. Perhaps we subconsciously enjoyed the thrill of living on the edge.

This was taken from a column by Mark Mayfield. I had not heard of him before I did a google search on "Water Wiggle." Mark is right - Mr. Wiggle's expression was demonic.

16 posted on 06/30/2002 12:25:53 AM PDT by capitan_refugio
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000
I never would have guessed that the Frisbie predated the Hula Hoop. I mean, the original concept of the Frisbie goes way back (pie plates from the Frisbee Bakery, wasn't it?), but I had no idea Wham-O's version goes back as far as the 1950s. Maybe I'm getting senile (and/or North Carolina lagged behind the rest of the country, which is a distinct possibility), but I don't remember seeing Frisbies prior to the mid-60s.

Fortunately (IMHO), Frisbies had a lot more staying power than Hula Hoops, which I am just barely old enough to remember. I'll bet a bunch of rec rooms and attics contain dusty, forgotten, 45-year-old Hula Hoops. Heck, they're hard to throw away, because they won't fit in a trash can.

17 posted on 06/30/2002 6:04:50 AM PDT by southernnorthcarolina
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: southernnorthcarolina
I still throw a frisbee now and then with my kids, and always take one to the beach. Frisbee's are when used at the beach where you can dive for them into water.

---max

18 posted on 06/30/2002 7:11:17 AM PDT by max61
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson