50 Years Of NFL Games And Teams
Can it really be 50 years since Tudor’s NFL games and teams first started showing up in toy stores around the country? Was 1967 really 50 years ago…has it really been that long?
The answer is a giant affirmative YES!
It was 1967 — yes, 50 years ago — when Norman Sas and Lee Payne first unloaded the NFL line onto unsuspecting young boys throughout the country. The impact was immense…that’s the reason so many of us still carry the game with us today.
Can you imagine being in a toy store on the first day Tudor’s NFL No. 620 and No. 510 hit the shelves? Any boy looking at the box lids would have had a conversation with himself that went something like this.
TOY STORE AISLE
The fall of 1967, a 10-year-old boy is looking at shiny stack of a brand new Tudor NFL No. 620 game, and slides the top box out to get a better look.
BOY
(to himself)
“That’s not what’s really inside. I mean sure, the box says ‘NFL’ on it, complete with the official NFL league logo. But come on, the Giants and Browns aren’t really in the game – are they?”
He slides the 620 box back onto the shelf and then slides out a box for a Tudor NFL No. 510 game, which sits right next to the 620 models.
BOY
(to himself)
“And look at this box — the Packers and Colts aren’t really in this game. These miniature teams don’t exist. They just don’t. But then again, the box says ‘Colts & Packers Inside’ and also ‘all 16 NFL teams available.’ Plus it says ‘2 NFL teams in official uniforms!'”
Silent for a moment, speechless really, while continuing to look hard at the box.
BOY
(to himself)
“But I know the field won’t really say NFL in the end zones. Because it’s just not possible. Nobody has ever done anything like this before.”
Continues to study the box, then looks at the end for a price tag. Slides the box back onto the shelf and begins walking up the aisle toward the front of the store.
BOY
“Mom? Mom? Can I get an advance on my allowance?”
— Fade To Black —
A Change Of Expectations
All of us had our Electric Football expectations changed the first time we saw a Tudor NFL game. It didn’t matter what model it was, as soon as we saw the “N-F-L” on the game and the NFL teams, life was different. And it was even more different once we actually got a game and set it up. And life changed again once we saw all the different teams lined up in the Rule Book.
Perhaps the coolest thing about it all, is that 50 years later Tudor Games is still in business and still selling NFL teams! It’s a remarkable run that few toys can match. And that is something to really celebrate!
Earl, Roddy, & MK