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Zebco: 70th Anniversary (Pop-Up)

Home » Exhibits » Zebco: 70th Anniversary (Pop-Up)

In 1947 R.D. Hull arrived in Tulsa with a strange contraption that would forever change the sport of fishing – the first closed-face fishing reel.

The more unusual thing about Hull’s invention was the company he would eventually partner with to manufacture his new invention – the Zero Hour Bomb Company. The reels went into production in 1949 using an acronym of the company’s name – Zebco – and before long this side business took over and the business stopped making bombs altogether.

NOW CLOSED

Early day salesmans with Zebco car.
Zebco inventor R.D. Hull with his famous 33 Reel
Zero Hour Bomb Company time bombs and stock certificates
Zebco's fishing Chimpanzee with sales representative Bill Carter.
Early view of assembly line
Zebco Sign
Time bombs
Beauty queens at Dallas Sports show, 1961
Zebco Booth at Sports show
Zebco Building
Zebco advertisement, 1966

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Website Photography Credit: Jason Carrison