History of the Discs
Frisbee's name is a spinoff from the Frisbie Pie Co., a now-defunct Connecticut bakery. New England college students often tossed empty pie tins around for fun, a habit that led them to refer to the Pluto Platter as a "frisbie." Wham-O co-founders Rich Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin first obtained the marketing rights to Morrison's invention in January 1957.
Less than six months later, Knerr decided to embrace the nickname that the college kids had given the Pluto Platter. He evidently was unclear on how to spell frisbie, giving birth to a new word--and a trademark that is vigorously defended by Wham-O attorneys. Morrison, now 87, is still collecting royalties off the name he didn't really like. "It just goes to show I am a bad judge of names," he says.
More info on the history of the game...