Richard Knerr dies at 82 … Co-Founder of Wham-O Toys … The day the Frisbee & Hula Hoop Died

Talk about a death that brings many of us back to the days of our childhood. Richard Knerr has died at the age of 82 after earlier in the day suffering a stroke. Richard Knerr was one of the co-founders of Wham-O, the toy company that brought us such classic and timeless toys as the Frisbee, the Hula Hoop, the Superball, the Slip ‘N Slide and Silly String.

The amount of enjoyment that Richard Knerr and his late partner, Arthur “Spud” Melin, provided generations of kids and adults a like can probably never be matched. Thank you for such timeless classics like the Frisbee, the Hula Hoop and Silly String. Richard Knerr … Rest in peace,

Knerr, who started Wham-O in 1948 with his childhood friend Arthur “Spud” Melin, died Monday at Methodist Hospital after suffering a stroke earlier in the day at his Arcadia home, his wife Dorothy told the Los Angeles Times.

They branched into other sporting goods, including boomerangs and crossbows, then added toys that often bore such playful names as the Superball, Slip ‘N Slide and Silly String.

When a friend told them in 1958 about a large ring used for exercise in Australia, they devised their own version and called it the Hula Hoop.

Around the same time, they bought the rights to a plastic flying disc invented by Walter “Fred” Morrison, who called it the Pluto Platter. Wham-O bought the rights and renamed it the Frisbee.

The rest is amusement history. (Yahoo News)