The Colombian and the Council. The newspaper air; one green 120-gram “moonlighter” was lost in 1971, at Princeton.
had also been critical of the Council, which fed the the brook by the lot, The Colombian reported. Silver Twenty-five people showed up for the first practice
rivalry. and Hellring also took the International Frisbee at Rutgers University, seven of them former New
In the fall of 1968, the newspaper challenged the Association’s test, passing it as masters. The IFA was Jersey high school players. The first intercollegiate
Council to a game of Frisbee to settle their differences. then the sport’s governing body. competition was held between Rutgers and Princeton
In a matchup that featured two large, co-ed teams, Hellring continued to write tongue-in-cheek Frisbee on Nov. 6, 1972, the 103rd anniversary of the first
The Colombian won the first game in front of the high stories and place ads for the team in the paper. In intercollegiate football game, and at the same site
school, 11-7. one, the paper reported that “the rise of Frisbee in on the Rutgers New Brunswick campus. That game
Columbia high school is merely indicative of a world- and the rematch a year later were the only two
MY GIRLFRIEND IS A FRISBEE
wide trend, according to major national periodicals.” intercollegiate games Hines played his entire career.
By the summer of 1969, the now famous Columbia The story went on to cite a Time magazine article Hines arranged for the game to be videotaped by
parking lot had been built. Down the hill from the which recommended that the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. take a national network and for former Yankees pitcher
school, the lot is bounded on the east by a 12-foot their cue and henceforth “settle all disputes between and sports commentator Jim Bouton to cover it. “It
drop that descends into the Rahway River and on the the two with Frisbees instead of missiles.” was a thrill and a half,” Hines said. “I felt nervous and
west by a railroad embankment. Because the lot was dead serious about winning. It was an incredibly close
lit by mercury vapor lights, the students could play
ULTIMATE GROWS UP
game, from beginning to end, and Bouton was very
there at night, after the day’s activities. Games at the Before going off to college in 1970, Silver, Hellring, surprised at what a good game Ultimate was.”
parking lot included teams of 20 or more per side, but and Hines decided to print the rules and bring them CHS Varsity Frisbee Squad: (Top row from left to
that was eventually whittled to seven because “that up to date. Though many of the original rules are still right) Captain Joel Silver, Head Coach Cono Pavone,
was the most you could fit in the parking lot,” Leiwant in place today, some have changed dramatically. The Bob Mittlesdorf, Jonny Hines, Buzzy Hellring,
said. Soon, it became known that a regular game only limit to the size of the field was that “The two Arnold Tzoltic, Joe Staker, Paul Brenner, Tom Carr,
could be found on the “field” almost every weekend goal lines must be parallel and should be somewhere Mark Epstein, General Manager Alexander Osinski,
night and during vacations. “I used to spend so many between 40 and 60 yards apart, depending on the (Second row) Tom Corwin, Frisbee (Pro Model), David
weekend nights at the Frisbee field during my junior number of players.” Games continued to be played Medinets, David Leiwant, (Third row) Fred Appelgate,
and senior high school years that my parents would with as many as 20 or 30 players per side. And the Howard Straubing, Steve German, Vincent, (Laying
kid and lament that my ‘only girlfriend was a Frisbee’ end zones were unlimited. A player standing a foot down) Steve Schwartz, Frisbee (Master Model).
or that I would ‘marry a Frisbee,’” Hines said. from the goal line could score with a fifty yard bomb.
The sport was first publicized in a June 1969 Newark The booklet was entitled “Official Rules of Ultimate Note: Eric Halpern’s research contributed greatly to
Evening News article, written by Silver, entitled Frisbee” and cost 10 cents. the writing of this article.
“Frisbee Flippers Form Teams” and appearing above In the summer of 1970, a group of younger Columbia
a story called “John and Yoko Croon Again.” On the students – including Summers, Larry Schindel, Irv
THE ORIGINAL RULES OF ULTIMATE
first day of school that fall, the Frisbee squad played Kalb, and others known as the Richmond Avenue 1. Under equipment, the founding fathers wrote that
its first game on the school’s new parking lot. Gang or RAG – challenged the CHS team to a game. “individual players may wear almost any aids they
As the weeks and months passed, everything RAG lost 47-28 but played with the varsity for the wish, including hats, helmets, or gloves as long as
was not rosy in the lot, however. Local toughs and rest of the summer, and Kalb was selected as new they do not endanger the safety of another player.”
troublemakers would sometimes drive through the varsity captain when the original players went on to Also, no player was allowed to “carry any sort of
lot at high speeds — hassling the players and forcing college. An annual Thanksgiving match between the stick, bat or racket.”
them to scatter. Summers recalled one night when a Columbia team and the alumnus was established – a 2. Because the game was developed in a parking
“real big bruiser” — about 6-foot-2, 240-pounds — tradition that still exists today. lot, the playing field was said to have “no lateral
and a smaller guy got out of their car and attacked The RAG members sent the rules to many other boundaries; however it is best to choose a field
the No. 2 student in the class. “He was a very gentle, high schools in northern New Jersey, asking them with natural boundaries created by a hill, a river or
unassuming guy who wouldn’t have hurt a fly,” to form Ultimate Frisbee teams. Millburn High a wall.”
Summers said. “I went over to them and the smaller School responded and on Nov. 7, 1970, the first 3. Despite the perception that Ultimate was created
guy took a swing at me. I knew I could’ve decked interscholastic game pitted Millburn against the more as an anti-authoritarian alternative to mainstream
him, but the big guy was standing right there.” (It is experienced Columbia varsity. CHS won 43-10 in the 70sports, the first set of rules stated that “a referee
believed by some that the attackers went on to found Columbia parking lot. The game was covered by the or referees may officiate, and if so their decision
Ultimate in North Carolina.) Newark Evening News, and copies of the rules were must be final.
Despite receiving abuse for their anti-establishment, subsequently requested by other schools. When the 4. In the section on “Scoring,” they wrote, “A team is
countercultural game, the Frisbee players carried on. New Jersey Frisbee Conference was formed in the awarded one point for each goal legally scored, and
In February, 1970, the players adopted the name spring of 1971, it had five teams: Columbia, Dumont, there is no other way to gain points.”
The Columbia High School Varsity Frisbee Squad, a Millburn, Mountain (now West Orange), and Nutley. 5. “A Note on Team Size” suggested that while “7
tongue-in-cheek reference because the team had “We wanted to spread it throughout the world,” said is the optimum number for each team, this sport
no official connection with the school. One player Summers, who recalled a 24-hour road trip to the can be played with as many as 20 or 30 for each
designed “CHS Varsity Frisbee” sweatshirts, Silver’s International Frisbee Tournament in Upper Peninsula, team.”
mother paid to have them made up and the players Mich. “We were really spreading the gospel.” 6. The founding fathers also suggested that “As
proudly wore them in the first team photo. In the Summers and his cohorts were the forerunners to proficiency with Ultimate Frisbee increases, a ’one-
picture of the “Original Ultimate squad,” a school generations of high school and college kids who load hand only’ version of the game can be tried.” Any
custodian appeared as “Head Coach,” the school up for road trips – poor, smelly, and hungover – every player who used two hands to catch or trap the
security director was the “General Manager” and weekend. Frisbee would “forfeit” possession to the opposing
a fictitious player, Arnold Tzoltic, was listed as a Meanwhile, Columbia graduates were organizing team.
member. teams at their colleges and universities. In addition
According to Hellring’s sister, Heidi, Hellring got to Hines’ efforts at Princeton, Leiwant co-founded References
Wham-O to send the team a box of Frisbees because the Yale squad, and Summers the Tufts team. Hellring Article by Adam Zagoria. All Photos by Ed Summers
the discs kept cracking in the 15-25 degree Fahrenheit died in a tragic car accident during his freshman year, http://www.upa.org/upa/30anniv/30.html.
www.canadianultimate.com — Ultimate Canada Magazine 35
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