Both Tudor and Munro were downsizing in 1974 because of the recession.
Oil Crisis Hits the Economy
The oil crisis hit the U.S. at the end of 1973. This sent the U.S. economy into free fall and the toy business into turmoil, with toy shortages during the 1973 Christmas season. The toy business was changed dramatically. All the way from what toy makers wanted to produce to what retailers wanted to put on their shelves.
Electric Football had serious Christmas competition in 1974.
And in the sports game category, where Electric Football was king, there was a new competitor. And it wasn’t another football game. Although Aurora Computerized Monday Night Football was making its mark.
It was Brunswick Air Hockey. Toy stores were selling through entire stocks within hours of receiving them.
Munro’s 1974 Joe Namath game came with cardboard floodlights.
The sign of changing times in Electric Football first showed at Toy Fair, where Munro’s 1974 Day/Nite game came without working floodlights. The lights were now made of cardboard.
There was also no Electric Football advertising in the Toy Fair issue of Playthings. In fact, Tudor ran nothing at all in Playthings. It was the first time since WWII that had happened. And it spoke volumes for what was going on in the toy world.
In 1974 Sears asked Tudor to make a smaller and more affordable Super Bowl model.
Norman Sas already knew of another major sign of how the toy world was shifting. Sears still wanted a Super Bowl game, but they wanted a smaller one at a cheaper price point (or at the same price point as Tudor’s earlier SB’s had been).
Tudor was still the NFL’s top money maker, but 1974 was going to be a challenge unlike any other he had faced during his time at Tudor. The long-planned 1974 expansion of Tudor’s own Electric Football line now seemed ill-advised.
A Dramatic Year of Change
Coleco was no longer focused on Electric Football in 1974.
Coleco was still making Electric Football, but looked at the game as almost an afterthought. The company was headed in a different direction at this point, that being an electronic one. And one of the best-sellers Coleco would have in 1974 was their Bowl-A-Matic 300 game.
Even with a smaller Super Bowl game, Tudor was the undisputed Christmas catalog Electric Football champion.
The 1974 Sears, Ward, and JC Penney Christmas catalogs, all with Tudor NFL games.
Electric Football was still prominent in Christmas season advertising, although it certainly had company from Air Hockey. The majority of the games featured were Tudor models.
It was a dramatic year of change in the toy world. And these changes would not be temporary ones.
Earl & Roddy
To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable Buzz, Electric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!
