History / About
American Spinners was founded in 1988 by Bill Cress and made one-piece wooden yo-yos with exotic finishes, according to the YoYo Wiki, which says the line was still produced as late as 1999. The Yo-Yo Museum says the company began during the late-1980s boom from the Smothers Brothers Yo-Yo Man routine, seeking a high-quality one-piece yo-yo like those of the golden age, and that all models except one used the same standard blank, with a raised logo face. The Standard was the company’s mainstay line: a bulge-face one-piece maple yo-yo painted in several color schemes by a company specializing in race-car paintwork, now sought by collectors. The museum’s Standard (VR-104) in vermilion red is dated 1990 with an original retail price of $7. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History holds a black example with a red, yellow and green speckle design in clear oval packaging reading “American’s Best One Piece Wooden Yo-Yo” (object nmah_1335505).
