Wilf Schlee S.

Wilfred Schlee, Sr. He began producing yo-yos in 1931 in Canada after a yo-yo was given to him, and he was told they were being sold in large numbers in the United States. His original wooden yo-yos were called Hi-Kers but quickly changed to Cheerio. Schlee introduced the yo-yo to England, which started the first yo-yo craze. Cheerios were so popular that Schlee could not keep up with the demand. Cheerio yo-yos were sold primarily in Canada and England and were the main force behind the Canadian and English yo-yo crazes. In the early 1930s, In England, Edward the Duke of Wales was photographed playing one of Schlee’s cheerio yo-yos. Schlee was also a mentor to two other Yo-Yo Hall of Famer, Harvey Lowe, and Joe Young. Schlee’s son Wilf Schlee, Jr carried on the tradition of producing yo-yos and continued to manufacture yo-yos in Canada for distribution there and in the United States through the early 1960s. In Canada, Schlee owed the trademarked word “Yo-Yo.”