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The History of Paint Ball Guns
by Joel Union
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Overview
A paint ball gun in action
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Paint ball guns are commonly used as weapons in the extreme sport of paint ball. The history of paint ball goes back to the 1980s, making it a relatively young sport. Although paint ball guns were originally invented for practical, noncompetitive reasons, their main use changed very quickly and their popularity began to grow very rapidly.
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Invention
The invention of the paint ball gun is credited to James Hale of Daisy Manufacturing, who created and patented the first gun in 1980. His intentions were of a practical nature, not focused on entertainment or recreation, but rather on marking trees and livestock in the field. It would take only about a year for paint ball guns to be used in a much different manner.
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First Competition
Paint ball guns were used as part of a recreational sport for the first time in 1981. The first game of paint ball took place in New Hampshire and was played with 12 competitors. Each player was armed with a paint ball pistol designed for the foresting industry, and a game of "capture-the-flag" commenced. The creators of this first game were Bob Gumsey, Hayes Noel and Charles Gaines, and the winner was Ritchie White, who supposedly won without having to fire a single shot.
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Early Years
Outdoor paint ball fields began to open up soon after that first game, with Caleb Strong opening the first field in Rochester, New York. Charles Gaines marketed paint ball as the "national survival game" in 1982, and the media began to gain interest after an article was written about it in Sports Illustrated. The first NSG national championship was held one year later, with a cash award of $14,000 for the winning team. In 1984, Caleb Gaines would open the first indoor playing field in Buffalo, New York, and around this same time, the sport began to gain international popularity.
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Other Milestones
The National Professional Paintball League was formed in 1992 along with a pro-am tournament that took place in New York, Boston, Reno and other major cities in both the United States and Canada. The NPPL "DC Cup" was televised live on ESPN in 1993, creating mass exposure for the sport that would help launch its popularity on the Internet. Five years later, in 1998, the International Paintball Players Association was formed to provide information related to the education, safety and growth of the sport.
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Popularity
Paint ball has become the world's third most popular extreme sport as of 2010, with tournaments being held in more than 60 countries. A huge market has been created for the manufacturing and distribution of products related to the sport, such as goggles, inflatables, ammunition and of course, paint ball guns. Tournaments have even received sponsorship from big corporations such as Pepsi-Cola and Budweiser.
