I ain’t never heard of no humming-bird in my life. I already sent them my $300!’ About two weeks later Tom got the registration papers in the mail, and he walked into Jim Murphy’s office: ‘Looky here, I got it!’ Murphy inspected the papers and smiled, ‘Tom, that was absolutely brilliant, leaving the ‘g’ out of hummingbird.’ Tom laughed: ‘I didn’t know it had a ‘g’ in it.

But what are your going to call it?’ Tom replied, ‘I’m gonna call it Humminbird, I’ve already filed for registration.’ And Jim said, ‘No Tom, you can’t get registration on a common name, that’s public domain.’ Tom shook his head, ‘They better register it. So Tom approached his investor buddy Jim Murphy of Eufaula’s American Builders: ‘You gotta see this thing! It’s going to revolutionize fishing!’ Tom took Jim out on the water and Jim was impressed. “As a great structure fisherman, Tom Mann had a real need for a good depth finder, so he was excited about what those first modified units could do compared to what was available. Longtime Humminbird pro Hank Parker knows the story well, having spent a great deal of time with the brand’s pioneers. One of the most entertaining stories of Humminbird’s early years involves how the company got its name.

Hummingbird tom mann bird trap