Richard Knerr was an American inventor best known for marketing the Frisbee and Hula Hoop. In 1948 he cofounded the company Wham-O with Arthur Melin.

Wham-O was very successful developing and marketing novelty toys including the Hula Hoop (1957) and Frisbee (1959) and Super Ball (1960) which started fads and rapidly became American (and plastic) icons. Wham-o also produced the Slip 'N Slide, Super Ball, Super Stuff, Trac-Ball and other products.

The Hula Hoop was made of Marlex plastic and the brightly colored plastic product caught on quickly. Twenty-five million hula-hoops were sold in less than four months, and sales reached more than 100 million over two year. As interest in the hula hoop died down, the company developed Wham-o introduced the Frisbee which found a huge market beginning in 1959. The Frisbee had been first marketed by Fred Morrison in 1955 under the name "Pluto Platter". In 1957 Morrison sold the design to Wham-O, which modified and renamed the product In the early 1960s, Wham-O created the Super Ball another popular sensation. Wham-O was purchased by Kransco Group Companies in 1982.

See:

Nelsen, Valerie J. "Richard Knerr, 82; co-founded Wham-O, maker of the Hula Hoop and Frisbee". Los Angeles Times (2008-01-17).