I’m often asked “Who invented the trampoline?”.   The person most usually associated with this invention is George Nissen as he was actively involved in promoting the product and the sport until his death in 2010.  However he also had a partner,  Larry Griswold, who is rarely mentioned but who is jointly credited with inventing the trampoline.

Although forms of bouncing people from a sheet held by people had been popular for centuries, the modern trampoline was first introduced in 1936 when Nissen and Griswold built the first one.  Nissen was a gymnast and diving competitor where as Griswold was a tumbler  (see video clip below) in the gymnastics team.  Nissen was a student, and Griswold was a gymnastics coach, at the time at the University of Iowa, USA.

They had observed circus acts that used a tight stretched net to add entertainment value to their performances which led the pair to experiment by stretching a fabric sheet attached to an angled iron frame using coiled springs.  The name trampoline was taken from the Spanish for diving board, el trampolin, which Nissen heard on a demonstration tour to Mexico in the late 1930’s.  Nissen registered an anglisized form of the word as the trademark for his new product.

In 1942 Nissen and Griswold formed the Griswold-Nissen Trampoline and Tumbling Company and started making trampolines commerically.  This coincided with the US entering World War II and orders were thin on the ground.    By 1945 Griswold had sold his interest in the company as his entertainment career was starting to take off.

Griswold’s interest in entertainment had started whilst working at an acrobatic school in New York when he would also take part in Vaudeville shows.  When he returned to the University of Iowa in 1933 he started a group for the students who were skilled gymnasts,  putting on circus acts.   He also developed an act in the swimming pool which involved Griswold clowning and performing tricks on the diving board.  This later developed into his signature entertainment routine which he performed for many years.  In 1945 he found he had to limit his immersion in water so used a trampoline instead, disguised as a swimming pool.  This however gave him a wider scope for the venues where he could perform.

Throughout the 1950’s and 60’s Griswold performed his act across the USA and abroad.  He also performed on television variety shows including the “Frank Sinatra Show” and a video clip of this is shown below.  He was known as the diving fool.

Author: Bob Bounce