Henry Callahan (1957–1982) was a player and ambassador of

Ultimate Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) * ''Ultimate'' (Pet Shop Boys album) *'' Ultimate!'', an album by The Yardbirds *'' The Ultimate (Bryan Adams Album)'', a compilat ...

and helped bring the sport to the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, formally establishing a team in 1978. In 1982, he was murdered during a robbery while working in Boulder, Colorado. Both the Callahan Award, given each year to the best male and female college Ultimate players and the Callahan Rules of Ultimate are named after him. The idea and the award were founded by Charles Kerr, a long-time coach. There is also a move in Ultimate named after Callahan called a ''Callahan''. A ''Callahan'' is when a ''defensive'' player intercepts the disc in the opponent's end zone for a point. It is a rare occurrence, because it requires a defender to intercept, rather than simply block, a pass in the offense's own end zone. Under normal circumstances, the offense does not start a possession within their own end zone, so opportunities for a Callahan are limited to situations where the offense has been forced into their own end zone (either by a good pull or defensive pressure) or backward passes near the end zone. The move is so called because it was first legalized as a goal (rather than needing to be put into play from the goal line) in the Callahan version of the rules, which differed from the Ultimate Player Association's current rules at the time. The rules were subsequently changed in both the UPA (now

USA Ultimate USA Ultimate is a not-for-profit organization that serves as the governing body of the sport of ultimate (also known as ''ultimate Frisbee'') in the United States. It was founded in 1979 as the Ultimate Players Association, but rebranded itself ...

) and the

World Flying Disc Federation The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) is the international governing body for flying disc (Frisbee) sports, with responsibility for sanctioning world championship events, establishing uniform rules, setting of standards for and recording of w ...

to make a Callahan a legal goal under all rule sets used for Ultimate. Henry Callahan was also a

disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

player and his family donated money to install a memorial disc golf course at Bevier Park in

Waukegan, Illinois ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

. Completed in 1992 and expanded in 2008, this course is located in Henry Callahan Memorial Park.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Callahan, Henry 1957 births 1982 deaths Male murder victims Sportspeople from Boulder, Colorado Ultimate (sport) players People murdered in Colorado American disc golfers