Tom Morey.Photo: Robert Lachman/Los Angeles Times via Getty
Tom Morey.Damian Dovarganes/AP/Shutterstock
In addition to hislove of surfing, Morey studied mathematics at the University of Southern California and played jazz music into his 80s, according toThe Washington Post.
Even before inventing the Boogie Board in 1971, Morey was a surfing pioneer. He created the first professional surfing contest, the Invitational Nose Riding Championships, as well as a number of surfboard innovations, including the first polypropylene fin, per the California Surf Museum.
He recalled thinking at the time, “This can really be something; this thing can really be something.”
Tom Morey.Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times via Getty
The creation was originally called SNAKE — which stood for “Side, Navel, Arm, Knee and Elbow” — but Morey eventually decided on the name Boogie Board, a nod to his love of jazz, reportedThe Orange County Register.
As for his early pricing, the initial ad inSurfer Magazinelisted the boards as costing $37, a number he picked because of his age at the time, per the newspaper.
“That single device introduced more people to the joy of waveriding than any other person in the world,” Kempton wrote in the California Surfing Museum’s tribute to Morey. “His simple gift — a design that allowed anyone from paraplegics to Pipeline pros to boogie their brains out on a wave — will be his joyous, lasting, legacy.”
He went on to sell the creation and its trademark to Wham O in 1977, although he did not earn much money from the deal, according toThe Washington Post.
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Plans for a memorial have not yet been announced.
source: people.com
