It’s hard to imagine life without paintball but there was a time not so long ago that it did not exist. How did it start? Who were some of the first players and are any of them still around today?
They say that the best players or athletes have a full understanding of the history of their respective sport. Greats in golf like (dare I say) Tiger Woods know full well who’s records they are chasing down and the magnitude of surpassing them. For 37 years no one could beat the home run record of Babe Ruth who hit 60 until Roger Maris did it in 1961, he hit 61. Ask any player at that time and they know who went before them and the greatness they achieved. That record stood until it was shattered by multiple players albeit now the new benchmark hardly seems worthy because it is so tainted in controversy.
How about paintball? Does any young kid who can shoot the nads of a fly understand who Bob Long was or do they only associate the name with a high end marker. Who was General Hammer and what did he bring to the game and is Kerry “Viper” Rosenberry just someone who puts on the games we know & love?
I don’t know the entire history of paintball but finally I believe there is a place where we can all begin to find out. History of paintball by Paintball X3 is a new site (at least new to me) that has gone to great lengths to document and preserve the beginnings and growth of our extreme sport. In a time when there was no internet, ipods and cell phones were as big as a purse there were some armed with cameras, pens and papers who documented so much information it’s as if they planned this website all along. With a few clicks you can view what took them over 5 years to assemble and begin to see the birth of a worldwide sport almost as if you were there. Here is a sample video of some of the early players and equipment which is fascinating to watch.
