Father of Frisbee: Fredericton man named to Ultimate Hall of Fame

Fredericton's Donnie McPhee is the first person from the Maritimes to be named to the ultimate Frisbee Hall of Fame in Canada, and people who know him say it's no surprise. 

People in the sport call McPhee the father of frisbee in the Maritimes. If it wasn't for him, the sport wouldn't be as popular as it is within the area. 

"He kind of just has that ripple effect that where he is, he teaches people and then they go and develop it in their cities," said Andrea Patterson, who's been playing ultimate Frisbee for the past decade. 

"He's really been a key and an integral part to the sport developing in the Maritimes."

How it all started

McPhee played his first game of ultimate Frisbee in 1994, when a friend convinced him to give the sport a try. McPhee agreed, but only under the condition that his friend play a game of touch football. 

"We went out and we played football, I think on a Sunday night, and on the Monday I went out and played ultimate with him and a crew of people in town, and that was it," he said. "I never played football again."

That game was followed shortly by a trip to a tournament in the U.S. There, McPhee went up against the defending world champions and lost 15–0. 

"That's when I knew first of all that I loved the sport," he said.

McPhee found ultimate Frisbee was the perfect sport for him. It was sort of like flag football, with both teams trying to advance the Frisbee up the field through passing, and trying to get it to the end of the field to score.

He couldn't travel every weekend to play in the U.S. or a larger Canadian centre, so he decided to create the infrastructure in the Maritimes.

McPhee went about making his own ultimate Frisbee league, though at the time it wasn't as simple as posting on Facebook and inviting people to play. There was no social media, so he had to go about recruiting players a different way.

"It was a lot of poster–making, a lot of beating on doors," said McPhee.

McPhee helped set up four tournaments, which became a big part in increasing the sport's popularity. 

His hard work paid off and now around 400 people will come out to play ultimate Frisbee on an average night. According to McPhee, Fredericton has the highest amount of ultimate players per capita. 

Hall of Fame

McPhee, who was nominated by a couple of players in Fredericton, was recognized for his work and named to the Ultimate Canada Hall of Fame at a tournament at the beginning of the year. The announcement came after one of McPhee's games, and he wasn't expecting it. 

Getting into a Hall of Fame, it's not something you think about.- Donnie McPhee

"So when they started to talk, I don't think he realized until about a third of the way through the speech what was happening," said Patterson. "He was just like a little child on Christmas morning like, 'Yup, I got the present I wanted for my whole life.'" 

​McPhee confessed it was an emotional moment. 

"Getting into a hall of fame, it's not something you think about. It has to happen over a long time," he said. "[When] you do this kind of stuff you're not looking for recognition. You're doing it because you're passionate about it."

Along with the Hall of Fame accolade, McPhee has also been recognized for his playing skills. He'll be playing on the national team in Portugal this year during the World Great Grandmasters Beach Ultimate Championships.

"Coaching high school sports here, I talk a lot about, 'do you love to win or do you hate to lose?' And I can honestly say I love to win," said McPhee.

"I don't mind losing. I don't mind the process, but I like the thought of winning and when I do win I really enjoy it, and I think again, that first tournament I went to, the losing didn't turn me off the sport. I just saw that I wanted the glory of winning."