29 Facts About Ken Westerfield

Kenneth Ray Westerfield is an American pioneering frisbee disc player, who achieved numerous disc sports accomplishments in the 1970s.

Ken Westerfield was a tournament co-director for the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships in Toronto, the Vancouver Open Frisbee Championships in Vancouver, BC, the 1978 Santa Cruz Flying Disc Classic in Santa Cruz, California, the 1985 Labatt's World Guts Championships in Toronto, and the 1987 World PDGA Disc Golf Championships in Toronto.

Ken Westerfield was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Margaret Marion, a clerical administrator for the public school system, and his father, Gene C Westerfield, a trade school-trained refrigeration contractor in a family-owned business.

Ken Westerfield's parents were both athletic, and his father schooled him in many different sports.

Ken Westerfield later reflected that it was an interesting crowd to play for.

Ken Westerfield co-created and won the first freestyle competition and between 1976 and 1978 competed in North American Series competitions to qualify for competing in the annual World Frisbee Championships, won six US national freestyle titles including both 1976 Eastern and Western national freestyle titles and appeared in fifteen additional freestyle finals.

When other sports like disc golf, ultimate, double disc court, and overall events were introduced to the Frisbee scene in the early 1970s, Ken Westerfield quickly excelled in these new events because many of the skills involved in these new disc sports were skills that would transfer from his freestyle play.

In 1975, at the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships in Toronto, Ken Westerfield set the maximum time aloft world record with a sidearm throw of 15 seconds, using a Super Pro Model Frisbee, beating the old record of 11 seconds.

Also in 1975, Ken Westerfield invented a new freestyle move called "body-roll,", then presented the move in a freestyle event at a national tournament in Rochester, NY called the American Flying Disc Open,.

At a North American Series Frisbee tournament in Dallas Texas, Ken Westerfield became a member of the "400 club" with a prelim distance sidearm throw, and won the event with a throw of 378 feet, using a 119-gram World Class Model Frisbee.

In 1978, Boulder, Colorado, while doing a distance throwing demonstration at a North American Series event, Ken Westerfield threw a 119-gram World Class Model Frisbee, 552 feet, using his characteristic sidearm throw, beating the official world distance record of 412 feet.

Finally, Ken Westerfield stood up, went to the line, sized up the task then let it fly.

Ken Westerfield's 552-foot throw is still the longest measured distance toss for a Wham-O brand Frisbee disc.

Meanwhile, Ken Westerfield went to Santa Cruz, California, and teamed up with Tom Schot, to organize Frisbee events in Northern California, including 1978 Santa Cruz Flying Disc Classic.

Ken Westerfield developed a Frisbee Show called Good Times Professional Frisbee Show, which featured freestyle champion Mary Kathron, and later World Freestyle Champion Brian McElwain.

Since the Official PDGA disc golf national tour did not launch until 1982, Ken Westerfield never competed in nor applied for a PDGA membership.

In 1987, the Canadian Disc Golf Association and PDGA approached Ken Westerfield to produce, and tournament direct the PDGA World Disc Golf Championships in Toronto.

Ken Westerfield was inducted into the World Disc Golf Hall of Fame.

Ken Westerfield played in these beginning ultimate Frisbee exhibition games with some of the early promoters of the sport, Johnny Appleseeds who were there to compete in the other events at the Canadian Open competition.

In 1979, Ken Westerfield retired from competing in national freestyle, disc golf, and overall competitions in the US and Canada.

Ken Westerfield continued to organize and produce local disc events in Toronto.

Ken Westerfield had a passion for ultimate, and with the help of Bob Blakely and Chris Lowcock, he created the Toronto Ultimate League.

Ken Westerfield initiated weekly ultimate pick-up games on Kew Beach, then sent invitations to form teams from Wards Island, West Toronto, North Toronto, and his team Beaches.

Ken Westerfield, using Bob Blakely's office copy machine and mailing facility at Irwin Toy, would produce a weekly newsletter highlighting the games and scores for each team as well as their league standings through the playing season.

In 2010, Ken Westerfield was inducted into the inaugural class of the Toronto Ultimate Club Hall of Fame.

In 2011, Ken Westerfield was inducted into the inaugural class of the Ultimate Canada Hall of Fame.

Ken Westerfield is recognized not only for his athletic achievements and for being one of the best players of his time, but for his contributions as a pioneer, innovator, and organizer for all disc sports.

Today Ken Westerfield, mostly retired, spends his time in Bisbee, Arizona, a small town near the US Mexican border.

Ken Westerfield has always had a passion for helping animals and volunteers much of his time working with several animal rescue organizations.