It actually began with a sling shot. You could even call it the second "shot heard 'round the world."
Richard P. Knerr and Arthur K. "Spud" Melvin had met and hit it off while in high school. They continued on at the University of Southern California, where they were more interested in selling things — lumber, used cars, falcons — than books and classes.
It happened one day while they were training falcons. To teach the birds how to dive for prey, the men would fire globs of meat into the air, using a homemade slingshot. A man approached them and asked if he could buy a slingshot like they had, and never ones to pass up an opportunity to sell something, the men said "yes."
They bought a band saw on credit and got a sheet of rubber and set up shop it Knerr's dad's garage. The WHAM-O toy company was born.
It went on to be one of the most amazing toy companies ever, says toy guru and historian Tim Walsh, whose latest book celebrates the 60th anniversary of the company. "WHAM-O Super-Book: Celebrating 60 Years Inside the Fun Factory" (Chronicle Books, $19.95) tells the story of the company and looks at its famous creations, including the Hula Hoop, the Frisbee, the Slip 'n Slide, the SuperBall, the Monster Bubble, Hacky Sack and more.
In his last book, "Timeless Toys," Walsh said, "WHAM-O was the only company that got its own chapter, so I kind of tipped my hand about my love of these toys. I had lots of them as a kid; our garage was filled with the larger WHAM-O playthings. At any given moment, my brothers, sisters and I were within a few feet of fun. The potential for play was palpable."
When Walsh realized that 2008 was not only the 60th anniversary of the company, but also the 50th anniversary of the Hula Hoop, "I thought it was the perfect time for an in-depth look." He approached the company, which Knerr and Melvin had sold to Kransco in 1982, to see if he could have access to their archives. Melvin died in 2002, but Walsh talked to his widow, and to Knerr, who has since passed away, and his daughter, Lori.
"It really was a lot of fun," he said in a telephone interview from his home in Florida. And while the book is heavy on nostalgia — anyone of a certain age will likely remember playing with a lot of these toys — it's more than that, said Walsh.
It is also a tribute to some of the most creative inventors the toy world has ever seen. "The inspiration they brought to toy design is huge," he said.
Walsh knows a little about toy design himself; he is the creator of such games as TriBond, Blurt! and Mad Gab, which have all sold millions of copies all over the world. He's worked in the game industry, and he knows a lot about having fun. After all, he was born on Christmas Day, "a perfect prerequisite for a kid destined to become a play entrepreneur."
During the '60s and '70s, WHAM-O ruled the outdoors, says Walsh. "It's the most prolific outdoor toy company in history. Nowadays, things like the Frisbee and the Hula Hoop are so ubiquitous, we forget that back in 1957 and '58 they were totally original. Knerr and Melvin got so proficient at throwing the Frisbee, people couldn't believe it. They were sure the men were using wires. The same with the Hula Hoop — how could you keep this thing up? It defied gravity."
And the people behind them deserve a lot of credit, said Walsh. In our culture, if you sell a million records, you get a gold plaque to hang on your wall, he said; and if you sell a million books, you hit all the best-seller lists and likely get a movie deal.
But if you invent something like the Frisbee, which has sold more than 200 million and created its own unique sociology, people hardly know your name, said Walsh.
The Frisbee was actually invented by Utahn Fred Morrison; it was produced and distributed by the WHAM-O company. "But now with Canine Frisbee, and Ultimate Frisbee and Frisbee golf, people have met their spouses, kids have been born, lifelong friendships made because of the very real sociology around that sport."
It's easy to forget, too, how huge the Hula Hoop craze was, he said. "Even now there's an expression that something 'went the way of the Hula Hoop,' but when I mentioned that to Rich, he corrected me. When they sold the company in 1982, it had sold a million-and-a-half Hula Hoops, and it's still a staple. A lot of people still use it for fitness and for fun. It's making a comeback."
Over the years, not everything the WHAM-O company came up with was a best-seller. "But I've always thought that if you don't have a few bombs, you're not trying hard enough. It's refreshing to see all that they came up with. Most of them were ideas brought in by creative people, and they gave them a try," said Walsh. Plus, he added, over the years, their ads were always so fun.
One thing he has enjoyed as he's been doing book signings around the country is the reactions of people. "They will pick up the book and say, 'I had one of those,' and suddenly they are off in their boyhood, in their backyard having the time of their life. That's been a real treat for me," he said, but it also shows the power of the toys.
E-mail: carma@desnews.com