Tudor’s 1969 Sears’ Super Bowl No. 633 – A Game For The Ages

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Tudor’s brand new Super Bowl III No. 633 model in the 1969 Sears Christmas Book. ©Sears, Roebuck & Co. 1969

Electric football really hit the “Big Time” in 1969, when Tudor and Sears teamed up to recreate in miniature the Jets-Colts Super Bowl III game. The actual Super Bowl game, which the underdog Jets won 16-7, was perhaps the most monumental game in pro football history. It’s not an overstatement to say that Tudor’s new game was the electric football equivalent of Super Bowl III. (And we haven’t even mentioned Joe Namath…) Appearing on page 472 in the 1969 Sears Christmas Book, the game was an awe-inspiring vision to those of us who happened to be paging innocently through the catalog. It hit like a blitzing Dick Butkus. You just stared at the page — how could a toy get any better than that? (You knew electric football couldn’t.) And you kept coming back to the page. Man, you just had to have that game, you just had to…. All the motivation to “be good” until Christmas was on that page. Some of us were really, really lucky — we found a Tudor Super Bowl III electric football game under our tree. It was one of those life moments when all was truly well with the world. Even the box was inspiring — the game was a Lee Payne masterpiece. And a Christmas present that would never be forgotten.   Earl & Roddy

Electric Football 1969 Sears Tudor Super Bowl III NFL AFL Jets Colts Namath

Time To Play Reviews Tudor Electric Football

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Time To Play, a very influential toy web site (it was once a magazine), recently reviewed Tudor’s Power Play Electric Football game. It was a very nice review, with Time To Play seeming to grasp what electric football is about. And it’s really wonderful to see electric football getting exposure in its modern form, especially with the International Toy Fair just around the corner.

Here’s hoping Doug Strohm and Tudor get some great feedback at the Fair!

Earl

Charles Angell’s C_A_Panther Electric Football Tudor Team Web Site

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Charles Angell’s C_A_Panther Tudor web site. ©Copyright Charles Angell 2013

Electric football has a wide-ranging community. In the past we’ve talked about Tudor Games, who is still making electric football games, and also about the Miniature Football Coaches Association, who have stalwartly moved the hobby forward over the last 6 years.

Charles did a “live” version of the 1970 Tudor Rule Book. ©Copyright Charles Angell 2013

Another major contributor is Charles Angell with his C_A_PANTHER web site. Charles has team identification down to a science. Going through his web site is like taking a graduate level course on Tudor’s NFL teams. And at the same time, it’s a major dream factory. The teams that Charles has pictured…all the ones we wanted, but never got around to ordering. 

If we could only go back in time — with a wad of cash — and do it again. Imagine, ordering a complete set of new NFL and AFL teams every year, starting in 1967… This site is a wonderful place to lose yourself in the daydreams of simpler times. 

On top of it all, Charles is a truly nice guy who like to shares his expertise. He’s written an eBay buyers guide for the MFCA web site, and is also part of the Tudor Games Electric Football Forum. His site is not to be missed. 

 

Earl & Roddy

 

The Unforgettable Buzz Is Now Part Of The Tudor Games Electric Football Forum

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A Tudor Electric Football sales flyer from 1950. Tudor and Electric Football have a six decade legacy that is almost unprecedented in the toy world today.

Electric football and Tudor have a six decade legacy that few toys can match. So we are pleased to announce that The Unforgettable Buzz is now part of the Tudor Games Electric Football Forum.

We were asked if we would be interested in overseeing the history area and our answer was an unqualified “yes.” We all, in our own ways, do what we can to keep the hobby alive. But nobody has more riding on electric football than Tudor. For Doug Strohm and his company, electric football is a livelihood.

That someone is still making and selling electric football after 60+ years is truly amazing, especially when you consider the expectations of the modern toy game. According to Eric Clark, who authored the The Real Toy Story in 2007, Hasbro introduces 50 to 60 new games each year. Yet the company only expects 10 of those games to stay on toy store shelves more than a year, and maybe, just maybe, 2 will survive to a third year. Ten years is considered lifetime.

A six decade legacy puts electric football in rarified toy territory, with LIFE’s recent tribute to Norman Sas offering proof of just how powerful that legacy is. Doug Strohm and Tudor have the lead role in keeping that legacy alive, and it’s vital that Tudor be a part of electric football’s present and future. It’s our pleasure to contribute in whatever small way we can.

A big “thank you” to Doug Strohm. See you on the Forum!

 

Earl & Roddy

Electric Football Convention Flashback – Philadelphia 1999 (with help from Mark and Bill Klingbeil)

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Unforgettable Buzz author Earl Shores at the 1999 Miggle Convention in Philadelphia.

Electric football history was made on this day in 1999 when the Miggle Electric Football Convention got underway in Philadelphia. It was a vibrant event from the start. The crowds were overwhelming even early on Saturday morning. By Saturday afternoon my voice was almost completely gone from what seemed like non-stop electric football discussions. My family and my 3-year-old son got to hang out and help so it was very memorable event, even behind the tables.

Thanks to Mark and Bill Klingbeil for documenting in detail the 1999 Philly Convention.

Local television was there, regional newspapers all had features, and Mark and Bill Klingbeil, who had hung up their cleats by 1999, posted an epic account of the event online just a few weeks later. I printed out their pages way back when and still have a copy. Anytime I read through it I smile. It was an amazing event. The Super Bowl winner that year was New Jersey’s David Daniels.

Hopefully Mark and Bill don’t mind that we rely on them heavily for this post. They were truly the historians of that weekend. Thanks guys — it was an event worth documenting.

Earl

Electric Football Convention Flashback – Chicago 1996

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<img alt="1996 Miggle Electric Football Convention Chicago Sun Times page 1">

Electric football has had many momentous events. One of them occurred in 1996 when the Miggle Electric Football Convention opened at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago. Although it’s now referred to as the “second” Miggle Convention, at the time it was being called the first. This was how Miggle promoted it, and also the nomenclature given to it by the media coverage of the day.

Electric football Miggle Chicago 1996 Earl Shores NFL Tudor

Unforgettable Buzz author Earl Shores talking with an attendee at the 1996 Miggle Electric Football Convention.

The 1996 event was Miggle’s attempt to move electric football into the “big time,” and for those of us lucky enough to have attended, it was something we will never forget. It really was the first true gathering of all the “units” of electric football — players, painters, builders, collectors — it was a dream come true for anyone who loves electric football.

Mike Landsman Vision for Electric Football

Miggle President Mike Landsman was visionary in creating the event and placing it in a venue like the Hyatt. The media coverage Miggle received was glowing and well-earned. Electric football was certainly “back on the map” during that frigid January weekend. 

And when the final gun went off late Sunday afternoon, Mark and Bill Klingbeil had defended their Super Bowl title. Electric football now had their own version of the Lombardi-coached Packers of Super Bowl I and II. The legendary electric football status Mark and Bill have achieved since is well deserved.   

 

Earl & Roddy

Electric Football Grail – A Complete Felt of Footballs

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The top felt is from 1962. The bottom two are from the 1964-72 period.

Electric football has many great “pieces” to find when collecting old games. We talked in an earlier post about one of our favorite finds, Tudor’s original rub-on number sheets. But one of our ultimate finds is a “felt” of footballs – that is, a complete unused felt of footballs.

Tudor’s earliest electric football games came with felt footballs, although the footballs were already loose and in the storage containers that with the games. The first strips of felt footballs appeared in 1962, the same year that Tudor’s first 3-D electric football players appeared. That was also the first year for Tudor’s 3-D kicker-passer figures — the felt footballs now needed a small split for the quarterback’s throwing arm and for the kicking “tee.” (The top felt in the photo is from 1962.)

Foam footballs in the 1973 Tudor rule book.

In 1964 the felt was enlarged to include a washer for Tudor’s new on-field timer. This was Tudor’s standard electric football felt until Tudor, unfortunately, began making foam rubber footballs in the early 1970’s. (Foam footballs appear in the 1973 Tudor electric football rulebook, both in the instructions and in the replacement parts list.)

This change made the felts we had all the more valuable — raise your hand if you were ever guilty of stuffing a used football back into the felt for “safekeeping.”  And today, after decades of foam football production, discovering a felt with just a single football can make us feel like the electric football version of Indiana Jones. 

Much more to come in The Unforgettable Buzz.

Earl & Roddy

LIFE Honors Norman Sas in “Farewell 2012”

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<img alt="Life 2012 Farewell Edition Honors Electric Football Inventor and former Tudor President Norman Sas">

Electric football inventor Norman Sas was honored by LIFE in their end-of-the-year publication Farewell Remembering The Friends We Lost in 2012. There, among notable individuals like Neil Armstrong, Andy Griffith, Dick Clark, Mike Wallace, Etta James, Alex Karras, and Ernest Borgnine, is electric football’s Norman Sas. In fact, he shares his tribute page with NFL Hall of Fame running back Steve Van Buren.

Cover. ©LIFE 2012.

That LIFE would choose Norman illustrates just how deeply ingrained in American culture electric football is today. It is a fitting tribute to the man who touched so many of us with his invention. Yes, he had help along the way, and Norman would be the first to acknowledge the contributions of Lee Payne, Joe Modica, and even competitors like Eddie Gluck (Gotham) and Coleco.

In many ways Norman’s tribute is the sum total of all the toy men who contributed to electric football. The outpouring of electric football nostalgia that occurred during the summer surely caught many people by surprise. But for us electric football “lifers,” we knew, or at least we believed that electric football was a special toy that touched an uncounted number of boys who grew up during the “Tudor years” (1949-1988).

Norman’s full page with Steve Van Buren. ©LIFE 2012

So we smiled silently as Norman’s passing went viral on the internet, while at the same time being reported by almost every newspaper in country, including national media giants the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Few toymakers have garnered such tributes. And the ones that have have been toy legends like Barbie inventor Ruth Handler.

Norman was never worried about achieving legendary status in the toy world. It was truly difficult at times to get him to talk about the significant things he achieved with Tudor. But he wouldn’t have minded if electric football, his game, achieved the iconic status that it obviously has today.

 

Earl & Roddy

 

 

LIFE Farewell Remembering The Friends We Lost in 2012 is available in bookstores and supermarkets throughout the country.

 

 

 

Tudor’s 1970 Sears Super Bowl No. 633 – A Miniature Pro Football Time Capsule

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The 1970 Sears No. 633 Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs and Vikings.

Electric football probably never produced a more realistic game than the Sears’ 1970 Super Bowl No. 633 model. The field is nearly an exact replica of the Super Bowl field that was laid out in Tulane Stadium on this date in 1970. The only thing missing from Tudor’s replica field are the NFL and AFL logos that were in each team’s respective end zone.

Kicker Jan Stenerud puts the Chiefs ahead — for good.

Super Bowl IV in New Orleans was the final matchup between the NFL and AFL. It featured the Vikings and their seemingly devastating defense going up against the Chiefs, who actually finished second in the AFL Western Division behind the Oakland Raiders. (Two of the Chiefs three regular season losses came at the hands of the Raiders – by a combined total of 7 points.) The Chiefs won the third meeting between the two teams — the 1969 AFL Championship game — by a score of 17-7.

The Vikings were picked as 13-point Super Bowl favorites, but it was quickly apparent that the Chiefs were the faster and more prepared team. It could be argued that the 23-7 score makes the game seem closer than it really was (and this is coming from a pair of Vikings fans).

But the game Tudor produced for the following Christmas is stunning, no matter where your fan loyalties lie. The colors are bold, the details perfect, and condition of the field is much better than real one the teams actually played on. And it’s the only game Tudor ever made with team names in the end zones. It’s a one of a kind — and definitely one to have.

 

Earl & Roddy

Tudor’s College Electric Football No. 600

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Tudor’s 1971 College Electric Football 600 game.

Electric football, as we know it, was pretty much defined by Tudor’s relationship with the NFL. In contrast, electric football’s relationship with college football, at least up until Miggle went to college licensing in its last few years, has been indifferent at best.

1971 Cotton Bowl – Notre Dame upset undefeated and No. 1-ranked Texas 24-11

So with the biggest college game of the year on tap tonight, the BCS Championship game between Alabama and Notre Dame, the time seems right to highlight Tudor’s one serious effort with college football. It took place back in 1971, a time when New Year’s Day was the unquestioned highlight of the college football season.

The game was the Lee Payne-designed College Electric Football No. 600 model. It was a beautiful game, based on the  Tudor’s Sears No. 613 model, with a frame size of 32” x 18”. The frame also borrowed from Tudor’s Ward NFL electric football games, having college names displayed on the sides.

Tudor did not have licensing agreement with NCAA, which meant the frame could only list UCLA, not “Bruins.” And there were no Tudor-painted college teams. The players in the game came unpainted. By far, the end zones were the coolest feature, having the unique checkerboard design favored by a number of prominent college teams.

Tudor’s College model was only available in 1971 and 1972. But it’s definitely a landmark electric football game that takes you back to a time when New Year’s Day college football was truly special, and something we all looked forward to.

 

Earl & Roddy

NFL Vintage Electric Football Wild Card Matchup – the Colts vs. Baltimore (Ravens)

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HK Colts vs. “Big” ’67 Baltimore (my fantasy Art Donovan)

Electric football, fortunately, isn’t real life. As we’ve postulated in a previous blog, electric football is the original “fantasy football.” And the fantasy part of electric football trumps the current statistical fixation that defines modern fantasy football.

Electric football puts you in a place that feels a lot simpler, a place where anything seems possible. For most of us there is something very “real” in electric football, something we feel. It has nothing to do with how many “hurries” that an obscure  defensive lineman had in a game between two out of contention teams that we never had any intention of ever watching. Where’s the passion in that?

The Colts moving vans, off to Indianapolis. Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Pearson / March 29, 1984

Apologies for taking so long to get to our Wild Card matchup, but passion is the theme we used for picking the Baltimore Ravens and the Colts. As someone who was living and working in the Baltimore area as a neutral observer when: 1)The Colts slinked out of town in the middle of the night; 2) The city unconditionally embraced the CFL Baltimore Stallions (the only American team to be champions of the CFL); 3) The NFL dumped on the region and its pro football history by expanding to Charlotte and Jacksonville instead of back to Baltimore; 4) NFL football finally returned to the city in the form of the relocated Browns, I can say this…

Baltimore was, and always will be passionate and proud about its pro football teams and history.

And the Baltimore fans will be licking their chops for another payback to the Colts and the Irsay family. Although it’s been almost 30 years now, Bob Irsay took part of the city’s soul when the Colts snuck off to Indiana. Johnny Unitas, Lenny Moore, Raymond Berry, Art Donovan, the 1958 NFL “greatest” game, the 1971 Super Bowl, the swaggering Bert Jones-led teams of the mid-70’s, were all woven into the civic identity of Baltimore. The move will never be forgiven.

As someone who arrived in the Baltimore area as a neutral, yet watched and absorbed all that transpired during my nearly two decades there, I’ll be rooting for Baltimore. The city has paid its pro football dues.

 

Earl

Happy New Year and Thank You from The Unforgettable Buzz

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Tudor’s 1967 NFL lineup

Electric football 2012…when we look back at the whirlwind of the last 6 months, it’s been a period that did not exist in our imaginations. It started with a truly sad event, the passing of electric football inventor Norman Sas.

But through the spotlight his passing placed on electric football we’ve been able to make many new friends and reconnect with many old ones. We’ve been moved by the support and generosity the electric football community has offered to us this year. It really has been overwhelming.

We had been talking about the book for such a long time and finally reached a point where we decided that we just needed to shut up and finish writing it. It took longer than we figured, and after being away for so long – we’re incredibly grateful to how receptive and welcoming everyone has been. Thank you. And thank you again.

So as the year ends we’d like to take a moment to remember Norman Sas and also Lee Payne. Both men saw electric football as more than just a kid’s toy. Their vision is the reason we still cherish electric football after all these years later.

From all of us at The Unforgettable Buzz, have a safe and happy New Year. 2013 is shaping up as a promising one for electric football. We can’t wait!

 

Earl, Roddy & Michael

Electric Football’s Ultimate “Lost” Electric Football Game – The Lee Payne Designed “Ice Bowl”

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Lee Payne’s electric football Ice Bowl prototype. Designed in 1968, Tudor never put the game into production.

Electric football and the NFL have created some memorable pairings. Today it’s fitting that we show off a game that was an “almost.” It was designed, but never but into production. But, oh, what a game it would have been…

It was 45 years ago today that the Packers defeated the Cowboys in one of the most legendary games ever played in professional football history. The Ice Bowl, as the game became known, was frozen into legend when quarterback Bart Starr followed guard Jerry Kramer into the end zone with 16 seconds left in the game to give the Packers a 21-17 victory.

In 1968 Lee Payne created a Tudor Ice Bowl prototype (pictured above), complete with “frozen” end zones. It’s a beautiful game and likely would have sold well – and been quite a collectible in 2012. But it was never put into production. Tudor produced the Sears Super Bowl game instead, which took a lot design features from the Ice Bowl prototype.

Thanks for all your support 2012. Much, much more to come in 2013.

Earl & Roddy

Electric Football NFL Vintage Matchup Week 17 – Haiti Vikings vs. HK Packers

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Haiti Viking (Alan Page) vs. Hong Kong Packer (Donnie Anderson)

Electric football and the NFL have been licensing partners for over half a century now, but it wasn’t until Tudor created their miniature NFL that the game really started to capture our imaginations. And it allowed many of us move beyond our own mediocre home teams and become “involved” with a team whose season wasn’t over by the time football cards went on sale in our local 5 & 10 store. Being the late 60’s, some of us took the Vikings.

Alan Page and Donnie Anderson tangle in 1969.

So this weeks matchup of the Vikings and Packers is a compelling one for a couple of reasons. First, the Vikings need a win to guarantee a playoff spot. If they win, they’re in, no ifs, ands, or buts. And second, Adrian Peterson has chance to break the NFL’s single season rushing record. All he needs is 207 yards to move past Erik Dickerson’s 2,105 season total. That prospect, in and of itself, is amazing. Throw in that Peterson is coming back from ACL surgery…and it ranks as a possible “all-time” NFL moment.

Outside in Minnesota….

The Vikings are home, too, so it will be a loud and emotional afternoon against a long time divisional rival…who happens to be on a major roll and can secure a home playoff game with a win. The Packers will also not want to be the team to be associated with Peterson setting a rushing record. So it will be a battle fitting of the division that was once knows as “the black and blue” division. If only the game were going to be played outside.

Earl & Roddy

Holiday Greetings and Images from The Unforgettable Buzz

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Tudor’s 1945 Christmas greeting to the toy industry.

Electric football’s ancestral home is 176 Johnson Street in Brooklyn, NY. Tudor moved to that location in late 1945. Here’s the announcement they put out to the toy industry. And here’s just a few of the Christmas moments the Tudor provided through the years. Season’s greetings!!!

The Fry brothers with their brand new Tudor Sports Classic No. 600 game. Christmas Day 1962, Corpus Cristi, TX. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Fry.)

Mid-1950’s Tudor No. 500 (Courtesy of the internet.)

Christmas Day 1968

 

Happy Holidays!! – A New Sample Page from The Unforgettable Buzz

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Tudor’s NFL No. 613 box, and the photo Lee Payne used to create it. From The Unforgettable Buzz.

Electric football Holiday Greetings everyone!

We’d like to wish a Happy Holiday to all of our electric football friends. We are incredibly grateful for everyone’s support and input over the last couple months. It’s been amazing. As a special “thank you” we’re posting up another sample page from The Unforgettable Buzz.

Lee Payne and Tudor worked tirelessly to put realistic details into the game and the players. But Lee also worked hard to get realism into Tudor’s artwork. Here’s the box from Tudor’s 1967 NFL No. 613 model – and the actual photo Lee used to create the box.

That’s how important the details were to Tudor. Essentially electric football was just “a kids game.” But Lee wanted to use an actual NFL photo to create an unforgettable image that still makes an impact 45 years later. It was no accident that Tudor was the dominant player in electric football.

More to come…we promise. Sign up for our mailing list and get a special Christmas bonus!!

Earl, Roddy, & Michael

Electric Football Vintage Matchup Week 15 – 1967 Sears NFL No. 613 Cardinals vs. Bears

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Sears’ 1967 NFL No. 613 model – Cardinal vs. Bears

Electric football history was made 45 years ago when Tudor brought its miniature NFL to Christmas mornings throughout the country. One of the three NFL games Tudor was offering in 1967 was the NFL No. 613 model, which was being sold exclusively by Sears.

The No. 613 was an entirely new mid-size (31” x 18”) Lee Payne-designed game that came with the Cardinals and the Bears. (Up until 1959 these two teams had been cross-town Chicago rivals.) It also came with a colorful frame featuring the single-bar helmets of all 16 NFL teams.

Sears featured the game on page 461 of its 1967 Christmas Book for $10.49. The No. 613 was the first Tudor electric football game ever sold by Sears, and one of the most striking models Tudor ever made. Because of its frame and its provenance – one of Tudor’s three original NFL models – this game is one of our all-time favorites.

A 1967 Sears newspaper advertisement

For the real life 2012 Arizona Cardinals, the season is over. But the game is a must win for the Bears to keep their playoff hopes alive. Considering the Cardinals blew out the Lions last weekend, the Bears will have their hands full.

 

Earl & Roddy

 

P.S – The No. 613 game photo is another one of ours that has been floating around the Internet for a number of years. This photo was also part of the Miggle Tudor History page.

The Legacy of Tudor and NFL Properties

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The Chiefs “huddle” up during Super Bowl IV.

Electric football inventor Norman Sas was a genuinely humble man. But there was one topic where his trademark reserve quickly melted away. In any conversation that involved NFL Properties, Mr. Sas would always include this phrase: “We made that company.”

There was a financial component to this statement, as Tudor NFL electric football would spend almost a decade as NFL Properties’ top earning item. But perhaps more than this, Tudor NFL electric football became the NFL’s most identifiable item.

The NFL had previously licensed bobble-heads, lunch boxes, helmet plaques, jackets, pajamas, bread, pancakes, and yes, electric football games from Gotham Pressed Steel. But when Tudor created a miniature NFL, it was really one of the first interactive NFL-licensed items. A bobble head would sit there and look at you (besides being fragile); a jacket or hat you put on and took off; Gotham almost got it right with beautiful games and stadiums, but the players never conjured images of the NFL.

What a Tudor NFL electric football game did was allow young boys to interact with the NFL and develop a thoroughly personal relationship with “their” team. They could imagine being the coach, the running back, the quarterback…whatever position on the field they wanted. Right there in their living room or bedroom, in December or June, by themselves or with friends. With Tudor electric football, the NFL was always nearby.

The success of Tudor’s NFL electric football helped NFL Properties’ expand and build the “brand.” And that brand today is worth billions of dollars. So Tudor was instrumental NFL Properties’ success, but did they really “make” NFL the company?

Perhaps, but one thing is for certain even 45 years later: when someone says “electric football” we automatically think “NFL.” How’s that for branding?

 

Earl & Roddy

Electric Football Vintage NFL Matchup Week 15 – Haiti Raiders vs. Hong Kong Chiefs

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Haiti Raiders vs. Hong Kong Chiefs

Electric football is the original “fantasy football.” So we’re allowed to pretend that this week’s Raiders-Chiefs game is significant. It certainly is to the fans of the two teams. But outside of Oakland and Kansas City?

A little late afternoon AFL magic.

Yes, for us it is too. And we were determined to run this matchup since September. To see these teams in these particular uniforms…it will always be a late afternoon game, late in the season, with the two teams going at each other with an almost frightening intensity. Even you if didn’t follow the AFC West it was clear that “something” was at stake. Division title, conference title, pride…there was something meaningful in every Chiefs-Raiders game.

The Raiders’ unique “shield” yard line numbers.

And the uniforms were exotic to those of us weaned on the Eastern teams of the NFL. Add the colorful teams to the elaborately decorated Oakland field – how cool were the “shield” yard line numbers? – and watching the Raiders play the Chiefs was an appealing way to finish off a Sunday evening.

So here’s hoping this week’s game is a good one. The fans of both teams deserve it.

 

Earl & Roddy