Q: My son is a 39-year-old yo-yo expert and has traveled the world as a demonstrator, etc. I’ve always been involved with it too and have met many other yo-yologists in the world and produced a couple of contests in the past. I heard that Donald Duncan Jr. held a National Yo-Yo Contest at Disneyland in California in approximately 1962. Can you find out if it is true? Any and all information you can provide will be greatly appreciated!
Jeannie, Stockton, California
A: I wasn’t having any success in finding an answer until I discovered that the Duncan National Yo-Yo Contest was held, not at Disneyland park, but across the street at the Disneyland Hotel, which was owned by Jack Wrather. The first contest, with Donald Duncan Jr. in attendance, was held at the hotel in 1962, with a $5,000 prize. The next two contests, in 1963 and 1964, included spin-tops as well as yo-yos. 1964 was the last year that the contest was held.
Dave Smith