An early competition is shown in this photo. (Photo courtesy of the Marquette Regional History Center)

By JO WITTLER

and BETH GRUBER

Marquette Regional

History Center

Special to the Journal

MARQUETTE — 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Guts Frisbee Tournament in Marquette. Guts Frisbee began with four brothers: Bob, John, Tim, and Peter Healy of Ann Arbor, who began playing Frisbee around 1958. At a Fourth of July picnic in Escanaba they unveiled their new game. Then in August 1958 in Eagle Harbor (in the Keweenaw Peninsula), they played it again, calling it “Guts Frisbee.”

Guts is a high-speed disc game played by two teams of five. Teammates stand side by side facing the opposing team 14 meters apart. Teams earn points by throwing the Frisbee through the other team’s line. The Frisbee disc is typically thrown at 40-70 mph but speeds up to 95 mph have been recorded.

The receiving team must catch the disc single handed and can earn a point for a wild throw. The defense can bobble or tip the disc until it is caught. Catching results in no points for the offense. If the disc is not caught or if the defense uses more than one part of the body at a time when catching the disc, the offense gets a point and whoever touched it first returns the throw.

If the throw is too short, too high or too wide, it results in a defensive point and the defense throws back. Throws must be horizontal, that is less than 90 degrees vertical. Games are played to 21 points with a margin of two. Teams switch sides after a combination of 11 points are earned in case wind or lighting is a factor.

The first game was played on the beach. Later it was played on a grassy field. Those first matches in the Keweenaw were called the IFT for Invitational Frisbee Tournament. Later it became known as the International Frisbee Tournament. Guts is the first Frisbee sport and the IFT is the oldest Guts tournament. Usually, the event included a speed and distance competition.

In the early 1970s, the IFT began to develop a questionable reputation: towns in the Keweenaw were afraid to host the growing event, because of “long-haired hippie Frisbee freaks in leather jackets on motorcycles” (AP source). Jumbo Jon, owner of the Library Bar and IFT tournament director, and Bud Weesen, owner/manager of Cliffs Ridge, brought the 17th IFT to Marquette in 1974. It was held at Cliffs Ridge Ski Hill (which became Marquette Mountain circa 1984). In order to promote the event, Stroh’s Beer sponsored the IFT in Marquette.

The ski hill had concessions, restrooms, plenty of parking, and plenty of field space. Being near Marquette helped draw large crowds.

The first year saw 38 teams and crowds of about 8,000 over two days. The winner was the Library Bar from Houghton, with runner up Highland Avenue Aces. Despite the concerns, the police reported no major incidents.

The second year in Marquette, the tournament was run by Doug Weesen and Steve DesJardins. It set the record for the most teams: 65. Air Aces of Detroit competed against HMCU (Humbly Magnificent Champions of the Universe) of Ann Arbor in the finals, and the Air Aces won.

After two years, the IFT moved back to the Keweenaw, so the Queen City Flyers began a new tournament in Marquette. First held at Cliffs Ridge in 1976, the US Nationals is the second oldest Guts tournament.

Several players recalled playing at Cliffs Ridge, calling it the best location. One could cool off in the Carp River between games. There were big crowds and big sponsors. Stroh’s Beer sponsored many of the early U.S. Nationals. The tournament was two days and players would usually socialize Sunday evening, stay another night, and go home on Monday. Spectator estimates in the mid-1970s ranged from 5,000 to 10,000. The first tournaments at Cliffs Ridge were monumentally huge. There were cars parked up both sides of the road, to the top of the hill on both ways from the thousands and thousands of people.

Kurt Lahtinen

It was a festival. People were there with their coolers, and there were families and kids and people playing volleyball. It was a whole festival, and it really kind of just like everything else at the time, it was a fun thing to do, so it kind of grew. And it was, it’s an easy thing to get into. I mean, at the time you spend $3 or something for a Frisbee, and you’re playing Guts. I mean, you needed nothing. You needed a pair of tennis shoes and shorts and a T-shirt.

Better have a roll of tape for your fingers, you know, than get beat up, but it was really easy to get into, and it was fun. And like I said, any level, if you weren’t very good, you can still have fun, you know, it was it was easy to get into.

Dave Schneider

Marquette teams and players went on to compete and win at national and world competitions. Although the sport waned in the 1990s and early 2000s, it has been making a comeback. Today Marquette’s Guts community is growing, and players from Marquette are competing on an international level.

Join the Marquette Regional History Center in celebrating 50 Years of Guts Frisbee in Marquette on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. At 6:00 pm there will be a Guts Demo in the Museum Greenspace and at 6:45 pm Steve “Desi” DesJardins of the Queen City Flyers and Dennis “Wally” Walikainen, the curator of the International Frisbee/USA Guts Hall of Fame in Calumet, will share stories of the beginning of Guts Frisbee in the Keweenaw in the 1950s and Marquette’s entry into the sport in the 1970s. These two legends will share their first-hand accounts. Meet other Guts enthusiasts and view the special exhibit. For more info visit marquettehistory.org or call 906-226-3571.