The Colorful History Of Paintball

The sport of paintball continues to increase in popularity throughout the world

. Innovative games develop teamwork, leadership, and communication skills in a fun way that is enjoyed by millions for its entertainment value. It is also employed by corporations for team building exercises and the military for combat training in a field setting. Though paintball is quite a recent addition to the array of recreational sports, it is now the third most popular extreme sport in the world.

The history of the paintball gun, a gun that shoots paint pellets, can be traced to 1974, invented by James Hale of the Daisy Manufacturing Company to mark difficult to access trees and livestock for farming and forestry applications. It was in 1981 that three friends, Bob Gumsey, a sporting good retailer, writer Charles Gaines, and stockbroker Hayes Noel, found a new application for the Nelspot 007 pump pistol.

The first paintball game of "capture the flag" involved twelve participants in a New Hampshire field. The winner, Richie White, reportedly captured every flag without firing a single shot in this "every man for himself" game. Recognizing its potential, Charles Gaines began to market what he called the National Survival Game in 1982. He partnered with New York develop Caleb Strong to open the first outdoor paintball field located in Rochester, NY that was featured in an article in Sports Illustrated.

The national publicity offered a great boost to this new sport, with outdoor paintball fields opening in the U.S. and Canada. The first NSG National Championship was held in 1983, offering a $14,000 cash award for the winning team. The following year, Caleb Strong opened the first indoor paintball center in Buffalo, NY. By 1984, national leagues were formed in Australia and England as well.

The National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) was founded in 1992, sponsoring the Pro-Am Tournament Series in New York, Boston, Reno, and other U.S. and Canadian cities. In 1993, ESPN televised the NPPL DC Cup. This mass media exposure helped paintball become the third most popular extreme sport worldwide by 1996, played in over 60 countries.

The sport of paintball has become increasingly sophisticated throughout its evolution, offering a variety of games, scenarios, and playing styles. Paintball tournaments now enjoy major corporate sponsorships and hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes. The industry boasts many millions of dollars a year in sales of paintball guns and gear. Little did James Hale know the industry that his practical tree marking paint gun was giving birth to in 1974.

by: Art Gib

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