Ultimate Frisbee co-founders Joel Silver and Jon Hines took the field on Monday evening at the regional high school to play a pick-up match of the sport they invented back in 1968.

In between laughs, cheers and Frisbees whizzing through the air, both men displayed huge smiles as they observed, participated in and reminisced about the game they introduced to the world.

“What other sports are there where the founders are alive?” Mr. Hines said on the sidelines as a group of Vineyard players gathered around.

Mr. Hines is a longtime seasonal resident of Edgartown and Mr. Silver, who lives in Los Angeles and is known for producing Hollywood blockbusters Die Hard, 48 Hours, the Lethal Weapon and Matrix franchises among others, was visiting with film director Doug Liman. It was only by word of mouth that the two old friends realized they were in the same area for the first time in about a decade.

Ultimate Frisbee inventors Jon Hines and Joel Silver.

Jonathan Fleischmann

Ultimate Frisbee inventors Jon Hines and Joel Silver.

Jonathan Fleischmann

It was quickly decided they needed to get back out on the field with some Vineyard Ultimate enthusiasts, including Gary McGivney, former director of USA Ultimate, the national governing body of the sport, Charlie Shipway, Mr. Liman and others.

While pick-up games of Ultimate are more common in the summer, the special occasion of having two masterminds behind the sport added an extra buzz to the event.

Mr. Silver said he had no idea back in 1968 during his high school days in Maplewood, N.J. that a game involving throwing disks would become the worldwide sport known as Ultimate Frisbee.

“It was a joke,” he said with a laugh.

Mr. Hines agreed, but only to an extent. While he, Mr. Silver and a third friend, Buzzy Hellring, exchanged drafts of rules back and forth, Mr. Hines knew that the game they were inventing would become a sport.

“I actually have that piece of paper with his notes on it,” Mr. Silver said. “I remember it all. I remember every bit of it.”

After high school, Mr. Hines and Mr. Hellring brought the game to Princeton University where they were students. In 1972, the first intercollegiate Ultimate Frisbee game was played between Princeton and Rutgers University. Mr. Hellring never got to see the game brought to the college level in an official capacity himself, as he died in a car accident in 1971 during his freshman year.

Sailor Charlie Shipway is an avid Ultimate player.

Jonathan Fleischmann

Sailor Charlie Shipway is an avid Ultimate player.

Jonathan Fleischmann

When organizing the first game between the two universities, Mr. Hines was purposeful about choosing the date and place.

“In 1869 The first intercollegiate football game was played between Princeton and Rutgers at New Brunswick, so we arranged to have this in 1972 on the same day, on the same field at Rutgers where the first football game was,” Mr. Hines said.

Today, there are three professional Ultimate Frisbee leagues nationwide with over 40 teams total. There are also numerous high school and college teams around the nation, and the sport is played in over 100 countries.

Mr. Hines, who went on to become an international lawyer, saw the impact of the sport when he worked in Russia.

He's still got it.

Jonathan Fleischmann

He's still got it.

Jonathan Fleischmann

“They found out I was there and I was asked to come and throw out the first Frisbee in the all-Russia tournament,” he recalled. “That’s just one example.”

Before the game started Monday, Mr. McGivney pulled out a pie tin that read Frisbie Pie Company, which is located in Bridgeport, Conn. The pie tin is often referred to as one of the earliest Frisbees from the 1920s.

“The legend is Yale students would play with it,” he said.

The pie tin was then handed around as plans to make Ultimate Frisbee an Olympic sport were discussed. There were significant efforts to make it a demonstration sport at the upcoming 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles but it was eventually removed from consideration.

“It would have been the greatest chance to have it [debut in LA], because it was founded in America and now the Olympics will move to other parts of the world,” Mr. Hines said. “I would have loved to have been there at the opening ceremony.”

But the impact of the sport is still felt, whether on the global stage, professional level, or on a local high school field played by an intergenerational group of Vineyarders.

Mr. Silver didn’t officially partake in the game Monday evening but did throw out the first toss before heading back to the sidelines with a huge smile.

“You still got it Jonny,” he called out as his co-founder and old friend caught the Frisbee.