At No. 10 the Electric Football game that started it all – the 1949 Tru-Action No. 500.

The Electric Football Game Top 20 Countdown continues at No. 10. Over the last couple of weeks the countdown has been filled with some of the most colorful and elaborate models in Electric Football history. This week, as we reach the halfway point, we take a step back to a simpler time. It’s the game that started it all — the 1949 Tudor Tru-Action No. 500.

As we celebrated recently, it was 65 years ago this fall that the Tru-Action No. 500 first hit toy store shelves. And as we’ve said time and time again, the game looks crude to the modern eye. The players are blank pieces of red and yellow plastic, the QB throws only 60-yard passes, and there’s no grandstand. (There also no 5-yard lines, but real football fields of the time were often lacking them too.)

The No. 500 was a toy marvel in 1949.

But…and this is a “but” you have to work with honestly, it was 1949. Most football came to you through the radio or the newspaper (see Chapter 4 of The Unforgettable Buzz). The college game got all the headlines on Sunday morning’s while the pro game previews were buried on page six of the Sports section. And the unquestioned “America’s Game” of the time was baseball.

So the Tru-Action No. 500 with its free-running players was pretty exotic and thrilling for Christmas morning of 1949. It was a sports game unlike anything ever seen before, and it made its mark with retailers having to restock Electric Football multiple times before Christmas. And this was even with the game often selling for the luxury price of $6.95, which equates to $70 in 2014. That put Electric Football in the same price category as a Radio Flyer Wagons.

Our favorite part of the 1949 No. 500 – the jewel box for storing the players and accessories.

Electric Football was popular beyond Norman Sas and Joe Tonole’s wildest dreams, even being in great demand throughout the winter of 1950. And it was just the beginning of a long and amazing journey that would see Electric Football achieve exalted status in toy world while ascending to the top spot on NFL Properties’ ledger sheet. And a much updated version of the game is still being made in 2014. The Tudor Games Red Zone carries on the proud Tudor No. 500 tradition.

Like a long buried fossil relic, the original Tudor Tru-Action No. 500 isn’t particularly pretty. But it’s as significant as any game ever made. Without it…well, who knows what we might be playing with and writing about in 2014. Cadaco Photo-Action Football? Jim Prentice Electric Football? Marx Pro Bowl Live Action Football??

At No 10, it’s the Electric Football game to which we owe EVERYTHING – the 1949 Tru-Action No. 500.

Earl, Roddy, & Michael