In Part I of my skateboarding blog series, I discussed how the first big wave of skateboarding took place from 1959 to 1965, and then skateboarding went mainly “underground” from about 1966 to 1972. Part II told about how the introduction of Frank Nasworthy’s durable composite “Cadillac Wheels” enhanced the skateboarding experience, leading to the second big wave of skateboarding between 1973 to 1981. The third wave of skateboarding extended from 1983 to 1991 when famous skaters Tony Hawk (vert […]

Continue Reading about Sidewalk Surfing: The Gnarly History of Skateboarding Part III (1994 to 2019) Published on:
May 31, 2019

Think of the ubiquitous crayon—generally a three-inch-long, likely worn down (or possibly broken!) waxy object. There could be some in your utility drawer at home right now, or maybe there is a bucketful in your family’s playroom. Head on over to any family restaurant and there’s a good chance you find some waiting at your table ready to be used on the nearest paper placemat. You might even find evidence of crayon usage on your child’s bedroom wall, […]

Continue Reading about Those Colorful Crayons Published on:
December 6, 2018

In my last blog post we learned that the first big wave of skateboarding took place from 1959 to 1965, and then skateboarding went mainly “underground” from about 1966 to 1972. However, the skateboarding world began to see a resurgence starting in 1973 thanks to Frank Nasworthy’s 1972 introduction of durable “Cadillac Wheels.” These new and improved composite wheels provided smoother, faster rides for skateboarders and this upgraded feature literally set the “wheels in motion” for the second […]

Continue Reading about Sidewalk Surfing: The Gnarly History of Skateboarding Part II (1973 to 1991) Published on:
September 14, 2018

In the context of toy and sports history, skateboards and skateboarding have had a relatively short existence. Skateboarding might be the phoenix of the sports world: rising, dying out, and rising again. The sport has endured a fair share of highs and lows over the last 60-plus years.
However, before skateboards there were scooters, sometimes known as kick scooters and push scooters. Varied forms of scooters have been traced back to the early 1900s, most of them made from wood, metal, or […]

Continue Reading about Sidewalk Surfing: The Gnarly History of Skateboarding Part I (1940s to 1972) Published on:
June 7, 2018

Have you ever had a day when you just want to throw something? Well, it’s probably optimal if you choose an object that is meant to be thrown. Playthings such as softballs, paper airplanes, water balloons, and Frisbees count among the items which get the go-ahead for a wind-up and release. As I mentioned in a previous blog about toys people throw, “Sometimes I like to throw for distance and speed, other times for accuracy. Trajectory, body mechanics, kinetic […]

Continue Reading about A Flick of the Wrist: Flying Discs and Frisbees Published on:
January 5, 2018

“Stop playing with that ball inside the house! You’re going to break something—take it outside!” Those are familiar phrases that I heard when I was younger, and I am sure many other children can relate. What helped alter parental attitudes towards indoor ball play? Well, that would be the introduction of the Nerf ball, a four-inch foam ball officially marketed as “the world’s first indoor ball.”
According to Tim Walsh in Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them, […]

Continue Reading about Nerf Ball Published on:
June 23, 2017

I remember my first yo-yo: a blue Duncan Imperial. I was 7 years old and had saved up enough of my allowance to buy it. The drive to the store felt like an eternity. When I finally opened the package, the bright, shiny yo-yo smelled of plastic and felt as smooth as ice—it was perfect. Back at home, I spent hours in the driveway playing with my new toy. Over the next few weeks, I continued to practice and realized […]

Continue Reading about Out of this World: A Brief History of the Yo-Yo Published on:
May 8, 2017

I first encountered troll dolls in the mid-1970s. My younger sister had one that she loved greatly and played with all the time. In fact, she played with her troll doll (named “Sloppy Joe Head”) so much that eventually all of his hair fell out and his felt clothes were torn to shreds. When we moved to a larger house in 1976, somehow Sloppy Joe Head was lost forever. Forty years later, my sister still mourns his loss. But when […]

Continue Reading about Have You Hugged a Troll Doll Lately? Published on:
January 13, 2017

In my previous blog titled I’d Like to Thank All the Little People, I described the profound impact that Fisher-Price’s Play Family had on my preschool years in the early 1970s. What I could not have realized during those formative years is that, almost 4,000 miles away in Zirndorf, Germany, another type of play set—Playmobil—was being designed and tested for use by four- to 12-year-olds. But by 1977 at the ripe old age of seven, I had transitioned to these […]

Continue Reading about Playmobil Play Sets Published on:
June 1, 2016