Maker: Innova-Champion
Style:
Mold: Eagle (Original)
Classification: Fairway Driver
Flight Rating Numbers: 7, 4, -1, 3
Plastic Type: DX
PDGA Max. Weight: 180.1g
Disc Color: Pink
Lettering/Hot Stamp: Champion Discs Inc. Original Star—Silver™
Date Introduced: 04/1983
Date PDGA Approved: 01/01/83
Number Produced:
Period of Manufacture: 1983
Special Notes: This is paraphrased from the Swedish Database: Autumn in the year of 1982, Dave Dunipace brought a Puppy to San Diego’s Morley field that was modified with a plastic ring around the edge to form a wedge shape. The result was the groundbreaking Eagle, the first disc made specifically for golf, not throw and catch. This disc significantly reduced the weight necessary to get distance and high performance from a disc. The first beveled disc from Innova was born. It was a sensation when it was released in 1983. It had a very fast flight compared to the blunt edge discs that were standard before 1983. Today, this is a rare understable driver for shorter shots. This disc is not to be confused with the modern Eagle, which is a completely different disc. Test run (50-75 ps) in hard plastic, orange, pink or yellow without stamp also called the "Bald eagles". [The FDM believes there was also a clear Bald Eagle] The 1st production run (2500-3000 ps) was all in soft orange plastic with white specks in the plastic, various weights and only available with the champion star stamp with TM. The second run and final run (7000-7500 discs produced) in magenta [pink] (about 170 grams), orange (no specks and about 160 grams), chartreuse [bright yellow] (about 150 grams, and blue (about 130 grams). There were only a hand full of stamps used on the 2nd run of Eagle's, which include: Champion Star without ™, [This is where the FDM disagrees with the database. We have all 4 colors and weights as described for the second run but all of them HAVE ™ in the hot stamp] '83 World Disc Golf Championship, '83 World Games, Discovering the World, Orbitor's Odyssey, River Runner Disc Golf Pro Shop, Mark Horn's Mungazine Pro Shop, and Borland's Physical Therapy of California.

The first mold for the Eagle was not run to Dunipace’s specifications. There was a very limited transition test run of the original Eagle molded back in 1983. It was run after Dave had made a tweak in the Eagle mold as he was trying to make a more stable disc (The Aero). This transitional test run was done both to test some new material mixes and the new mold configuration. No tooling was in the mold and to the eye, this disc looks just like a hybrid between the Eagle and Aero. These were never released and very few of them left the factory. Only about 30 discs of each batch were produced. There were 3 batches run. All discs were white. Batch 1 weighed between 145-155 (give or take a few grams). Only the weight was written on the bottom of the disc. Batch 2 weighed between 155-165 (give or take a few grams). The weight and a small 2 was written on the bottom. Batch 3 weighed between 165-180 (give or take a few grams). The weight and a small 3 was written on the bottom. The Eagle was then retooled into the Aero one or two months later. A special thank you to Eric Knudsen for his generous donation of this item.
Contributor(s): Mike Hughes