Electric Football in the 1955 Montgomery Ward Christmas Catalog

There are so many points in Electric Football history where a change occurred and the path of the game was forever altered. One of the truly momentous changes happened when Electric Football began appearing the in the Christmas catalogs of major mail order retailers in the 1950’s.

The Tudor No. 500 in the 1955 Spiegel Christmas Catalog

It was 1955 when Electric Football showed up in the Montgomery Ward Christmas Catalog (above), the Sears Christmas Catalog, and also the Spiegel Christmas Catalog. Sears and Ward were both featuring a Gotham Electric Football game.

This happened because of the extensive connections that Gotham Vice President Eddie Gluck had in the toy world. One of his other connections was that he  happened to be a former Tudor employee.

Spiegel had the Tudor Tru-Action No. 500 in a tiny yet full color illustration. This was the first time Electric Football appeared in color.

Looking at the Ward page from 1955 — it’s really hard on the eye. The Gotham G-880 game in the top right corner seems to blend right into the page. But it wouldn’t be long before Electric Football was promoted to “Featured Toy” status. By the early 1960’s major mail-order retailers were displaying Electric Football prominently on full-color pages.

Electric Football would remain a Featured Toy in Christmas catalogs for most of the next two decades. By that time, of course, the onslaught of electronic games relegated it — and most all other toys — to the category of “ordinary.”

Thankfully in 2013 we still have Electric Football. And it has never ceased to be a Featured Toy for those of us who know it best.

Earl