The Hacky Sack—also known as a "footbag"—became a popular pastime in the 1970s. The sport was invented in Oregon City, Oregon, in 1972 when two friends, John Stalberger and Mike Marshall, began kicking around a small, handmade bean bag. The friends soon developed a game in which they batted the ball back and forth using their legs and feet; they called the game "Hack the Sack." After Marshall died from a heart attack in 1975 at age twenty-eight, Stalberger continued to promote the two friends' creation. Stalberger sold the idea to Wham-O, which brought the "Hacky Sack" to the mass market in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Hacky Sack quickly became a fad among teenage boys, who could stand about in a circle and kick their sack back and forth. Most hackers play such informal games. The game has become formalized, however. The International Footbag...