Tom Morey, inventor of the Boogie Board, dies at age 86 

Tom Morey would accidental helium ne'er acceptable retired to alteration the world, but his lightweight invention would yet let millions of radical the thrill of question riding.

Morey, inventor of the Boogie Board and 1 of the astir influential inventors successful the athletics of surfing, died connected Thursday, Oct. 14. He was 86. The Boogie Board this twelvemonth turned 50. 

“The Boogie Board was specified a versatile instrumentality – you could usage it beyond (the water in) boats, lakes oregon footwear astir successful a swimming pool. It had a immense interaction connected recreation, not conscionable surfing. It had a immense market,” said  Dick Metz, laminitis of the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center successful San Clemente.

Morey was calved Aug. 15, 1935  in Detroit, his household moving to Laguna Beach erstwhile helium was a youngster, a caller location wherever helium joined aboriginal epoch surfers exploring the area’s expansive coastline.

“Tom conscionable fell into that cult close away, helium was calved for it,” said Metz, who was a fewer years older than Morey and besides grew up successful the tight-knit formation town, recalling the archetypal clip helium met Morey connected the formation and lent him his surfboard.

Tom Morey signs an autograph during the induction ceremonial for the 21st Annual International Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021 successful Huntington Beach. Morey died a fewer days aboriginal connected Oct. 14, 2021.(Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

By the 1950s, Morey was 1 of the area’s champion surfers, arsenic good arsenic a jazz drummer and euphony person who attended USC and worked astatine Douglas Aircrafts. But helium rapidly bushed of the bureau beingness and started the surf store Morey Pope & Co. successful Ventura with assemblage person Karl Pope.

Morey, who had a grade successful mathematics, had an inventive caput adjacent successful his younger years. He thought if the chemoreceptor of his surfboard were turned somewhat up, it mightiness get into waves better. That “wing tip” plan was Morey’s archetypal large invention, and it had a large power connected committee shaping, particularly erstwhile shortboards deed the country years later.

He’s besides credited with popularizing the removable fin, allowing boards to question easier and alteration show connected waves. He came up with question excavation designs mode earlier their time, and had immoderate different ideas that ne'er took off, similar a spray connected overgarment that would helped with committee grip, utilized alternatively of wax, that was fashionable for a time, but didn’t last.

Morey promoted what contiguous is touted arsenic the archetypal nonrecreational surf contention – the Tom Morey Invitational successful Malibu successful 1966. First prize was $1,500, and Mickey Munoz was the winner.

It wasn’t until 1971 portion surviving successful Hawaii that helium chopped a large portion of surfboard foam successful half, wanting to thrust a bombing surf interruption erstwhile the upwind was excessively beardown to basal up connected a board.

He enactment connected his aquatics fins and swam out, each portion lying down connected his new, homemade board.

“The archetypal happening that happens, I consciousness the ocean,” Morey said successful a past interrogation with The Orange County Register. “You don’t get to consciousness the contour of the water until you get connected a Boogie Board.”

Morey described that archetypal ride, closing his eyes and recounting each question of that wave. He was thrown onto the sand, his hands clutching the sides of this caller benignant of board.

“And I think,” helium said, pausing arsenic helium held backmost tears, “‘This tin truly beryllium something; this happening tin truly beryllium something.’”

His wife, Marchia, past 8 months pregnant, was the 2nd idiosyncratic to springiness the Boogie Board a spin.

In a past interview, helium recalled his aboriginal rides, each crook and bend, similar it had happened yesterday.

“My archetypal bully wave, I tried to angle. I had this turning flat, I’m skidding. On the 2nd wave, I commencement to bend,” helium recalled. “This happening caught and went phhhhewww.

“I’m going up the look of it a small bit, I’m bending the happening down. I straighten out, it bends down implicit the driblet and alternatively of going stiff, I’m portion of the ocean.”

After 1 of his aboriginal sessions, 1 feline walked up and asked: “How tin I bargain 1 of these? Do you privation to merchantability one?”

Morey came up with a terms connected the spot. “Ten dollars,” helium told the man, making his archetypal sale.

The Moreys moved from Hawaii to Carlsbad to get a mill going, with assistance from friends who loaned wealth and believed successful his chaotic idea.

He archetypal named his committee SNAKE, an acronym for “Side, Navel, Arm, Knee and Elbow.” But Morey though the sanction made radical uneasy, truthful helium renamed it the Boogie Board, aft his emotion for jazz tempos.

He picked a fig for pricing erstwhile helium enactment an advertisement successful Surfer Magazine: $37, due to the fact that helium was 37 years old.

His archetypal advertisement sold 3 boards and soon it was hundreds a week.

Surf shops weren’t speedy to thrust the Boogie Board wave, truthful Morey created clinics astir the country, his aboriginal salesperson Patti Serrano mounting up connected the soil and letting kids trial the boards out, their parents having nary prime but to bargain the boards erstwhile they felt the thrill.

Surfboards instrumentality equilibrium and athleticism. The Boogie Board was thing anyone, astatine immoderate age, could thrust with ease.

Morey sold the Boogie Board and the trademark successful 1977. Today, it is owned by Wham O, which wide produces the boards and sells astatine big-box retailers astir the world. The institution owns the trademark – including the Tom Morey sanction – which is wherefore akin wave-riding boards indispensable beryllium called a bodyboard, and not a Boogie Board.

Morey didn’t go affluent disconnected the invention and lived a humble life, for galore years successful northbound San Clemente earlier precocious moving to Laguna Woods. He wasn’t into worldly objects oregon fame, and was inactive reasoning of ideas for the adjacent champion thing.

For Morey, the Boogie Board was conscionable different mode to surf waves. He often scoffed astatine the disagreement betwixt surfers and bodyboarders, a sanction helium besides didn’t like, ne'er knowing wherefore determination was a separation betwixt the groups contempt a communal emotion for the thrill of the ride.

Morey successful caller months received much-deserved accolades arsenic the Boogie Board turned 50. Celebrations were held successful Carlsbad and San Clemente, and conscionable past week the metropolis of Oceanside honored Morey with a proclamation for his invention.

Surf historiographer Jim Kempton called Morey the “Ben Franklin of surfing,” an inventor of galore thought who besides had a philosophical mind.

“He astir apt brought much radical to thrust waves than immoderate different azygous idiosyncratic successful the past of surfing. That’s a immense accomplishment,” Kempton said. “He was a pioneer successful truthful galore areas.”

Kempton, president of the California Surfing Museum, said a solemnisation to grant Morey scheduled for Nov. 6 astatine its yearly Oceanside gala volition inactive instrumentality place.

“It volition beryllium a fantastic nonstop off, truthful to speak,” helium said. “I cognize it volition beryllium precise heartfelt.”

Hawaii earlier this twelvemonth made an authoritative proclamation to involvement assertion arsenic the board’s birthplace, giving Morey authoritative designation arsenic the “Father of Boogie Boarding” and declaring July 9 the “Day of the Boogie.” There are besides plans for a monument not acold from wherever Morey was surviving and archetypal rode the committee adjacent the surf interruption Honl’s astatine Wai’aha Bay connected the Big Island.

“Life is astir the joyousness of being present to larn our lessons,” said woman Marchia – some were beardown believers successful the Baháʼí Faith.  “We had truthful overmuch fun. We’re truthful blessed … we had immoderate laughs.

“He’s successful a bully place,” she said. “And I’ll beryllium with him erstwhile my clip comes, and we’ll spell retired successful the question and formation oregon immoderate it is up there, and we’ll beryllium floating.”

Plans for a memorial are pending. Morey is survived by woman Marchia, girl Melinda, sons Sol, Moon, Sky and Matteson, and grandchildren Max, Nick and Dane.