Ashley Whippet was not the first dog to catch a flying disc (frisbee), but he did help popularize the sport.
 |
| Alex Stein and Ashley Whippet |
On August 5, 1974, 19-year-old Alex Stein smuggled his dog Ashley Whippet into Dodger Stadium where the baseball game between the LA Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds were being televised nationally. During the seventh inning stretch, Stein jumped over the infield wall and went onto the field (uninvited) with Ashley where he threw discs for his dog to catch. The crowd was amazed with Ashley's ability to run up to 35 mph and leap up to nine feet in the air to catch the discs. The two performed for eight minutes before Stein was escorted off the field and arrested.
Stein, Irv Lander (a consultant to Wham-O - the maker of the Frisbee) and Eldon McIntire (a dog trainer and a frisbee enthusiast) organized the first Frisbee Dog World Championship in 1975. Stein and Ashley won the first three championships in 1975, 1976 and 1977. In the early 1980s, the competition series was renamed the Ashley Whippet Invitational in honor of Ashley.
Ashley died in Stein's arms in March 1985 of natural causes at age 13. Sports Illustrated eulogized him.
