Leap of faith made dog Frisbee contest a national event

Alex Stein went through a lot of jumps and turns on his road toward inspiring the Ashley Whippet Invitational World Championship. So did the 37 teams of dogs and their owners Sunday in competing in that championship.

Stein was student at Ohio State University in the '60s when he dropped out to do what he enjoyed most - playing Frisbee with his dog, Ashley. The two spent months in Palm Beach, Florida, doing exactly that.

It wasn't long before the duo began wowing anyone who watched.

"Imaging running a marathon, but you practiced by running 10 miles a day in the sand," Stein said. "That's what Ashley did. This dog, his hind muscles were like Mike Tyson's arms."

Ashley had an 8-foot vertical jump in the sand. On grass, he grabbed about another full foot of air. When Stein gathered enough of a following in Florida, he decided it was time to try and make it big. He headed to Hollywood.

Shunned by agents, advertisers, dog food companies and Frisbee-makers, Stein hit a wall. But while listening to a Dodgers game on the radio he caught the inspiration that would fuel his breakthrough. He went to the game, bought a ticket and smuggled Ashley and a Frisbee inside.

Near the end of the game, he jumped out onto the field between innings and let his Frisbee fly. Instead of security tackling him, they became transfixed by Ashley and Alex's performance. Thousands of fans applauded, and the TV cameras took notice. So did some of those organizations that once shunned Alex.

While sitting in a jail cell awaiting bail, the halftime show coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams passed him a card through the bars.

"I just thought, 'Yesss, this is it.'"

And it was. Life became halftime shows at sporting events across the country, an appearance at the White House and TV appearances on all the major late night talk shows. At one point, Ashley even had his own gold American Express card.

"It was an interesting life," Stein said. "I did it for 17 years, traveling about 90,000 miles a year."

On Saturday he traveled to Naperville for the Frisbee dog world championships that carry Ashley's legacy. The fun times he had with Ashley are now a world sport that drew 37 teams from the United States, Canada, China, Germany and Japan.

The teams competed for two titles - a throw-and-catch championship and the overall trophy.