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 Collector series came out in 1990 in metalflake finishes, with a profile the Yo-Yo Museum says resembles the Russell Coke yo-yos. Catalog numbers recorded by the museum include BS-307 (deep blue sea), JG-306 (jade green) and RB-302 (candy apple regal blue). It was packaged in an American Spinners “Yo-Yo Garage” with a white cotton string and retailed for $15; the BS-307 example measures 59.7 mm diameter, 32 mm width and 49.65 g.
