I first remember playing with yoyos in the late 50s through the 60s. Duncan pretty much dominated the scene and sponsored local events to get kids interested. They had numerous models from a beginner’s model to the Jeweled Tournament. They were all made from wood. I remember that as my first. It came out of the package with the sting inserted into one of the axle holes so it was perfectly responsive. Once you got the timing down and could make it go up and down reliably, you would twist it apart, take the string out of the hole and put the loop on the axle and twist it back together. It was now an “advanced” and would hesitate so you could learn tricks.
Even the first Butterfly I had was green and made out of wood. It was so cool!
Later on, the first plastic yoyo I saw was the Imperial. I remember it being expensive for the time. It would spin forever with it polished steel axle!