The Invention Story Of T-Shirt Guns

The T-shirt gun was invented by Tim Derk, the man inside the Coyote costume, the San Antonio Spurs mascot from 1983 to 2004. Derk was looking for ways to improve the live game experience for fans and make it more exciting. Before the invention of the T-shirt gun, the crowd was limited to the throwing range of the mascot or cheerleader, which meant that fans in the upper bleachers rarely got any freebies. Derk's invention changed that and allowed teams to launch T-shirts into the upper deck with ease.

Tim Derk, the San Antonio Spurs Coyote, invented the T-shirt gun

In the 1990s, Derk and his peers decided to take things to the next level. They designed and built a 90-pound, 4-foot-long cast-iron pipe that used compressed gas to blast T-shirts into the air and into the hands of fans. Derk first used this T-shirt cannon, also known as a T-shirt gun, during a game as Rambote, a combination of Rambo and the Spurs' Coyote. This innovation changed sports entertainment forever.

The T-shirt cannon was inspired by the spud launcher, a cannon designed to shoot potato-sized objects. Derk recognised that this concept could be adapted to launch balled-up shirts. The first T-shirt cannon was powered by a carbon dioxide canister that Derk wore on his back, similar to the setup of a paintball gun. This allowed him to launch shirts into the upper deck with ease.

Derk's invention sparked an arms race among NBA teams, with each team trying to outdo the other with more impressive T-shirt cannons. The Philadelphia 76ers, for example, introduced Big Bella, a double-barrelled T-shirt Gatling gun capable of firing 100 shirts every 60 seconds. The Milwaukee Bucks unveiled a triple-barrelled gun that could propel vests and jackets.

Today, T-shirt cannons have become lighter and more compact, with some weighing as little as two pounds. They have also become more powerful, with the ability to fire up to a dozen shirts per second. The T-shirt cannon, pioneered by Tim Derk, has revolutionised the in-game experience at sporting events worldwide.

It was made from cast iron and weighed 90 pounds

The original T-shirt gun, or cannon, was made from cast iron and weighed 90 pounds. This included the weight of the tanks that powered the device. The gun itself was around 4 feet long. The cast-iron pipe was the kind that goes into the floor underneath a toilet. The whole contraption was carried on the back of the San Antonio Spurs mascot, Tim Derk, also known as the Coyote. Derk designed and fabricated the T-shirt gun with other mascots.

The gun was powered by a carbon dioxide canister, worn on the back, and worked in a similar way to a paintball gun. The carbon dioxide was delivered into an air tank, and when the trigger was pulled, the gas was released all at once, shooting the T-shirt from the barrel.

The gun was heavy and unwieldy, and Derk's understudy and eventual successor, Rob Wicall, had to carry the gear for him so he wouldn't get worn out. Over the years, Derk kept tinkering with the design, trying to make it smaller and more effective. They experimented with the diameter of the barrel and the size of the tanks, always trying to reduce the weight and bulkiness.

The original T-shirt gun may have been cumbersome, but it was effective. Before its invention, T-shirts could only be thrown as far as the arm of a cheerleader or mascot would allow. Even the use of slingshots had limited range. With the new T-shirt gun, Derk was able to launch shirts into the upper deck with ease.

It was powered by a carbon dioxide canister worn as a backpack

The T-shirt gun was invented by Tim Derk, the man inside the Coyote costume, the mascot for the San Antonio Spurs from 1983 to 2004. Derk was determined to improve the live game experience for fans and was constantly looking for ways to do so. Before the invention of the T-shirt gun, the distribution of free merchandise was limited to the throwing range of the mascot or cheerleader. To overcome this limitation, Derk and his peers decided to design and fabricate a cast-iron pipe that used the pneumatic principle to blast T-shirts into the air and into the arms of fans.

The T-shirt gun was powered by a carbon dioxide canister worn as a backpack. The inspiration for this design came from the spud launcher, a cannon designed to shoot potato-sized objects. Derk recognised that this design could be adapted to launch balled-up T-shirts. The backpack-style carbon dioxide canister allowed Derk to launch T-shirts into the upper deck with ease.

Derk's invention revolutionised the way sports teams distributed merchandise to fans. The T-shirt gun was soon adopted by other mascots and teams, with Kenn Solomon, the mascot for the Denver Nuggets, obtaining one of these devices and also becoming involved in selling them commercially. Over the years, the T-shirt gun has evolved to become more compact, more powerful, and more ubiquitous.

Today, T-shirt cannons can weigh as little as two pounds and can fire up to a dozen shirts per second. They have become a beloved component of timeout entertainment in arenas throughout the sporting world. The original invention by Derk, powered by a carbon dioxide canister worn as a backpack, played a pivotal role in transforming the way sports teams interact with their fans.

T-shirt guns were inspired by spud launchers

T-shirt guns, or cannons, were invented by Tim Derk, the Coyote mascot for the San Antonio Spurs in the 1990s. Derk was determined to improve the live game experience for fans and was always looking for ways to raise morale. Before the invention of the T-shirt gun, mascots would throw merchandise into the crowd, but this was limited by the strength of the mascot's throwing arm. Mascots would also use huge rubber bands to fling T-shirts, but this method also had a limited range.

Derk wanted to reach fans in the upper bleachers and decided to create a device to launch T-shirts into the crowd. The T-shirt gun he invented was a 90-pound cast-iron pipe, four feet in length, that used the pneumatic principle to blast T-shirts into the air. The first T-shirt gun was powered by a carbon dioxide canister that Derk wore on his back.

The T-shirt gun was inspired by spud launchers, or potato cannons, which were designed to shoot potato-sized objects. Derk realised that a balled-up T-shirt could also be launched from such a device. Spud launchers use compressed gas, usually carbon dioxide, which is released all at once when the trigger is pulled, shooting out whatever is in the barrel.

The T-shirt gun has since been commercialised and improved upon, with newer models weighing as little as two pounds.

T-shirt guns have caused injuries and lawsuits

T-shirt guns have brought joy to many sports fans, but they have also caused injuries and sparked lawsuits. In 2018, a mascot named Chip at the University of Colorado-Boulder was injured when a T-shirt cannon malfunctioned and shot him in the groin. The same year, a fan named Jennifer Harughty sued the Houston Astros, claiming that their mascot, Orbit, shot her with a T-shirt and shattered her finger, requiring surgery. In 2019, Alex Swanson sued the New York Mets after he was knocked unconscious and suffered a detached retina when a T-shirt fired from a cannon hit him in the face during a game. Swanson's lawsuit accused the Mets of "negligence, recklessness and carelessness" and sought damages for the permanent damage to his vision and eye.

The Houston Astros faced a similar lawsuit in 2018, when a woman broke her finger during a flying T-shirt encounter at a game. The Astros stated that they would continue to use T-shirt launchers during games, despite the ongoing legal matter. In 2013, the University of Arkansas stopped using T-shirt cannons after a misfire incident sent a student to the hospital. A Risk Assessment Study by the United States Military Academy West Point found that T-shirts fired from air cannons can achieve "kinetic energies 15 times larger than that of a paintball gun, nine times larger than that of a pellet gun, and nearly half that of a 9mm handgun". The study also found that the launchers had enough power to injure eyes and break facial bones, highlighting the potential dangers associated with their use.

The lawsuits involving T-shirt guns bring into question the doctrine known as the "baseball rule", which states that fans accept some risk when attending a baseball game. This rule has typically protected teams from liability for injuries caused by flying balls and bats. However, courts have recently determined that while the "baseball rule" applies to flying balls and bats, it may not extend to other objects launched during a game, such as T-shirts. The outcomes of these lawsuits could set a precedent for future cases involving T-shirt gun injuries and shape how sports teams approach the use of these devices.

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