Electric Football History The Unforgettable Buzz - Page 18 of 19

Electric Football Vintage NFL Week 6 Preview – Eagles vs. Lions; (Vikings vs. Redskins; Jets vs. Colts)

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Earl

Tudor Electric football players 1967 Eagles and Lions

1967 Lions and Eagles

Back in early September I picked the Eagles and the Lions as the matchup for Week 6. This was done partially from a “home” perspective, but also because I still have my originals of these teams, even down to the colors they are wearing this Sunday. (According to the Eagles team web site, they will be wearing green.)

But it seems even more fitting to have the Lions this week with the recent passing of Alex Karras. We are losing more and more players from the “golden era” of the NFL, and their contributions to pro football are being forgotten. That Mr. Karras is not in the Hall of Fame is something the NFL veterans committee should reconsider.

Both teams in the photo are big teams, and beautifully done. This Lions team has some of largest of large men I’ve ever seen. In fact, at one of the electric football conventions I attended somebody offered me $75 for the Lion player in the photo. As my original, I couldn’t let him go (no regrets).

The Eagles of this period do not conjure fond memories – unless they are on an electric football game. Then anything is still possible. In real life it seems the jury is still out on both of these teams. Sunday should reveal more. Are they are good teams who are struggling? Or is this just not the year of the Eagle or the Lion?

Tudor electric football players Redskins and Vikings

HK BS Redskins vs. Vikings

The Vikings and Redskins are for our resident Vikings’ fan, Roddy. The Vikes have to be considered one of the surprise teams so far. Did anybody have them at 4-1 this far into the season?

These teams are both Hong Kong in variety, with Redskins being a more recent vintage than the Vikings. The Redskins are from that period when Tudor started using yellow players for teams like the Packers, Steelers, Redskins and Rams.

Tudor 1960 Sears Super Bowl Electric football Box

Also meeting this weekend are the Jets and Colts. These teams have met many, many times as they were division rivals in the AFC East from 1970-2001. But it seems worthy to at least mention the matchup, and briefly take it back to their first meeting in 1969.

Our designer Michael Kronenberg is a die-hard Jets fan. He will be doing the picks for Week 7. And he’s done some really amazing work with the book. It’s a very exciting time behind the scenes right now, sort of like Christmas morning. The Unforgettable Buzz will tell the story of electric football as it deserves to be told. It will be worth the wait.

Earl

Before Electric Football – Part II

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Earl

1926 “Football Game” by Robert Rubino and Wallace Witcombe

As we mentioned in our previous installment of “Before Electric Football,” having football players “run” on a game board was something toy makers and inventors had dreamed about long before Norman Sas came to Tudor. During our research for The Unforgettable Buzz we had the opportunity to get a close look at football games from the past.

Down linemen: Kneeling charging position.

In 1926, before Tudor even existed, Robert Rubino and Wallace Witcombe obtained a patent for their “Football Game.” The game’s patent number was 1,603,717, and it’s clear that Mr. Rubino and Mr. Witcombe had a very thoughtful and forward-looking approach to recreating football in miniature.

In their description to the Patent Office Rubino and Witcombe declared: “A very important feature of this invention resides in the game pieces or men or players who are used for the purpose of playing the game.” The feature they were referring to was having players in two different poses, down lineman (“kneeling charging position”), and upright backs and ends in a “standing running position, as well as a ball receiving and carrying position.” It was imperative to Rubino and Witcombe that the backs and ends have their arms positioned in such a way “as to catch and receive and hold the ball.”

Backs and Ends: Standing running position.

On page two of the patent they completed their vision of miniature football players: “All of the game pieces or men (Figures 10 and 11) are or may be decorated to imitate uniforms or colors of schools, colleges, or clubs and carry numbers on their backs and have head guards or other playing paraphernalia, and in fact duplicate to a marked degree the appearance of the players on the field of the outdoor game of football.”

It all sounds pretty familiar, doesn’t it? Down lineman as well as backs and ends that can actually carry the football? Players “decorated” with uniforms, numbers, headgear, and other playing paraphernalia? It sounds a lot like…electric football!

Red Grange 1924. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Archives.

This is not to suggest that Norman Sas or Lee Payne “borrowed” Tudor’s realism from Rubino and Witcombe. Norman and Lee likely knew nothing of this patent. But what it does suggest is that the desire to create a highly detailed miniature football platform was a long-held one.

Rubino and Witcombe wanted to have a miniature Red Grange, just as Lee Payne conceived a miniature Bart Starr and Gale Sayers, and just as today’s coaches might want a miniature Drew Brees or LeSean McCoy (gratuitous Eagles’ reference).

The weak spot of Rubino and Witcombe’s patent was the player’s method of locomotion – alternate moves like a chess game (see the squares on the field). Those of us who tried and failed to enjoy playing Ideal’s 1967 NFL All-Pro Football game can verify that the alternate-movement technique makes for a very tedious game-playing experience. Unless you’re playing chess or checkers.

More to come in The Unforgettable Buzz. We promise not to be tedious.

Earl & Roddy

It certainly looked exciting from the outside…

Missed Electric Football Vintage NFL Week 5 Matchup: Colts vs. Packers

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Earl

Tudor’s NFL No. 510 Colts-Packers

Many thanks to Ray Fananra for pointing out a vintage electric football matchup that we missed this week. It was also special for Ray because in 1969 he got a NFL No. 620 with the Colts-Packers, not the Browns-Giants (he did get the Brown’s number sheet). We love those type of stories. It gets to the heart of what’s special about electric football.

He also pointed out that it has been 45 years since Tudor’s NFL games appeared on toy store shelves. We had been considering doing a “Big Men” birthday post, and may still do that. Anybody who wants to contribute a “big” men story, please do. We can get it through the Comments, or the Contact section. We do appreciate your input.

Again, thanks Ray!!

Earl

Electric Football Vintage NFL Week 5 Preview – Giants vs. Browns; Kansas City vs. Baltimore

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Earl

Tudor electric football players Giants Browns

1967 BIg Giants and Big Browns

This week’s vintage electric football picks were easy. The Browns are visiting the Giants, and Baltimore is visiting Kansas City. It’s a pretty amazing week, at least for genuine Tudor electric football game match-ups.

This will be the 50th time the Giants and Browns have met. Between 1950-69 the two teams forged one of the greatest rivalries in the NFL, playing each other 41 times while battling for the NFL Eastern Division title. But the Giants-Browns rivalry was one of the unfortunate casualties of the NFL-AFL merger. Since the Browns moved to the AFC in 1970, the two teams have only met 8 times. Sunday will be meeting no. 9.

1967 Tudor NFL No. 620 Electric Football game

The Browns and Giants have another claim to fame – they were the two teams Norman Sas and Lee Payne chose for Tudor’s masterpiece NFL No. 620 game. First sold in 1967, it’s arguably the most recognizable game in all of electric football. It was always the cornerstone of our electric football convention displays, easily generating the most conversation of any game we ever set up. It was also the one electric football model that Miggle decided to go back and remake. If there is a standard-bearer game in electric football the No. 620 is it. It is the classic of classics.

Tudor electric football Colts and Chiefs

Tudor Colts and Chiefs, both Standard size and Big.

We’re using our imagination a little bit with Baltimore and Kansas City, but for those of us of a certain age, Baltimore will always = Colts. We just can’t help it. In 1970 Tudor put out an AFC No. 510 model with the Chiefs and the Colts. It was a sharp looking game, being part of Tudor’s 2nd generation of post-merger NFL models. It’s an electric football classic in its own right thanks to the single-posted goal posts, and redesigned grandstand.

And if you bought this game in 1970, you ended up with two Super Bowl champions. The Chiefs were the previous seasons champs, while the Colts would beat the Cowboys in January of 1971. Not a bad legacy for the AFC No. 510. (Note: the big players were long out of production by 1970.)

Please stay tuned. The Unforgettable Buzz will unravel Tudor’s many model No.’s this fall.

Earl

The “Accordion” No. 600 Model – Tudor’s Most Unique Electric Football Game?

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Earl

Electric football game 1966 Montgomery Ward No. 600 electric football game

The 1966 Montgomery Ward No. 600 electric football game — the “Accordion” game.

Norman Sas and Lee Payne created a lot of memorable electric football games during their time together at Tudor. Obviously the NFL models made their impact, an impact that many of us still feel deeply today. But perhaps the most unique and hardest to find Tudor model is one that doesn’t have any NFL credentials. It’s the 1966 Montgomery Ward Sports Classic No. 600…better known as the “Accordion” game.

Ward had been selling Tudor’s large 38” x 21” Sports Classic model since 1962, but for 1966 they wanted something to compete with the Gotham NFL Big Bowl game, which appeared in the 1965 Sears Christmas Book. Ward asked if Tudor could do something similar. So Lee Payne set about designing a new grandstand exclusively for Montgomery Ward.

A 1966 Montgomery Ward electric football game

The 1966 Tudor Accordion game – in the flesh.

The result of Lee’s work was on display in the 1966 Ward Christmas Catalog. Page 317 was impressive, as there was a No. 600 game with a massive new grandstand that stretched almost ¾ of the way around the field. Mounted on top of the grandstand was a new scoreboard that featured interchangeable college names, as well as city names to represent teams of the NFL and AFL.

But for the longest time collectors questioned whether the game actually existed. That is, did Ward actually ever ship games in this configuration, or was it just an elaborate prototype created for the sake of making a “wow” in the catalog (not an uncommon occurrence at the time).

Tudor 1966 No. 600 electric football game

Someone worked hard to paint the players of this game…and the results are memorable.

We’re happy to report that the game does exist. It is an amazing site when fully unfurled. The “technology” of the grandstand proved to be a bit fragile, so it wasn’t carried over into the NFL era of Tudor. And the delicate nature of the grandstand, combined with the fact that the game was a Ward exclusive sold only in 1966…it adds up to a very rare game.

But it stands as another testament to the realism that Norman Sas and Lee Payne saw in electric football. And it’s also a testament to how intense the competition between Tudor and Gotham got during the 1960’s.

The Unforgettable Buzz will offer a 50-yard line view to this heated rivalry.

Earl & Roddy

Electric Football NFL Week 4 Preview – Big 1967 Eagles vs. Big 1967 Giants

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Earl

Electric Football 1967 Eagles and Giants

1967 Big Giants vs. 1967 Big Eagles

This was an easy pick for an electric football preview. First off, I’m an Eagles fan. And from there…this will be the 161st time these two teams have met, a rivalry that began back in 1933. Sports Illustrated has ranked it as the No.4 pro football rivalry of all time. Right now both teams are 2-1 on top of the NFC East…it’s simply a big game.

And speaking of “big,” it just so happens I was lucky enough as a kid to end up with Big Eagles and Big Giants. The Giants came with my Tudor NFL No. 620 in 1968. The Eagles came directly from Brooklyn not long after Santa parked his sleigh in the garage for the year. These two teams have met many times on the vibrating gridiron.

With both teams being “original,” it really doesn’t get much better than this. My Eagle end is no. 44, or Pete Retzlaff. Pete actually retired in 1966, but so what, he was my favorite player. In 1968 he was still playing for my Eagles. That’s the beauty of electric football. His skewed numbers attest to the difficulty of applying Tudor’s original press-on numbers – at least for 8-year-old fingers.

The Giant is numbered randomly, but at least his numbers are on straight. No matter how the press-on numbers are applied, I find them a magical addition to any Tudor player. That’s because it automatically dates them to the earliest days of Tudor’s NFL. Another dating clue comes from the yellowing plastic of the Giant. This aging artifact is only seen in large players (but not all large players). Some may view this as a defect, but I’ll take all the large yellowing players I can find. I know they’re genuine.

Eagles and Giants battle in 1966

It’s hard to tell if the real Eagles are on their way up or down right now. They usually rise to the occasion for the Giants, with a number of dramatic victories. However, the Giants-Eagles game that still sticks with me is a 62-10 beating that the Eagles took in Yankee Stadium not long after Thanksgiving Day in 1972.

Former Eagle Norm Snead was the Giants quarterback. In 7 years with the Eagles, Snead had compiled an abysmal 28-49-3 record. On this day with Giants, he was Joe Namath and Sonny Jurgensen rolled into one as he sliced up the Eagles secondary for 3 TD’s. He got his revenge that day. Eagles’ luck for sure – and some of us still feel the sting.

Earl

The Mystery Man of Tudor and Electric Football – Joe Modica

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Earl

Tudor’s 1955 Electric Football Players. They were designed by Tudor Plant Manager Joe Modica

Most electric football aficionados know that Norman Sas invented the game, and that Lee Payne took the design of electric football to levels of realism that were only once dreamed of. But there was another person who played the designer role in between Norman’s initial inventing and Lee’s arrival at Tudor.

That person was Joe Modica.

Joe Modica’s official job description was Tudor plant manager. But there must have been more, as Mr. Modica has a number of patents on file in Washington, D.C., including patents for the plastic overlay found on Tudor’s horse and auto race games of the late-50’s and early 60’s (Patent No. 3,011,787). He also has the patent on Tudor’s unique high-top clad basketball shooter-figure (Patent No. 2,827,035).

Electric football player patent 1955. Joe Modica.

Joe Modica’s electric football player patent from 1955

In electric football Modica’s most significant contribution was Patent No. 2,772,512. That patent was submitted for the newly designed electric football players that Tudor introduced in 1955. Thanks to Modica’s creativity Tudor began making players in two different poses: the down lineman, and the upright running back – a player that could actually hold the ball in his arm. Though not of Lee Payne caliber, they are the first 3-D electric football players.

The mystery comes from the fact that, as can be seen from the patents, Mr. Modica designed some very sophisticated pieces. Yet according to Norman Sas and Lee Payne, Mr. Modica was more than happy to step aside when Lee started working for Tudor. It seems he preferred being plant manager rather than company inventor. It is our understanding that Mr. Modica continued working for Tudor until he retired in the 1980’s.

Joe Modica’s contributions to electric football are not to be underestimated. His innovations were vital to the entire Tudor line. They played a major role in Tudor’s success during a period when Gotham Pressed Steel stepped forward as a serious action game competitor.

The Unforgettable Buzz will cover the Tudor-Gotham competition in great detail, including the role of Joe Modica.

Earl & Roddy

The Joe Modica-designed Tudor basketball player.

Electric Football NFL Week 3 Preview – Big 1967 Raiders vs. Big 1967 Steelers

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Earl

1967 Tudor Electric Football Players - Raiders and Steelers

1967 NFL Electric Football matchup — 1967 Raiders vs. 1967 Steelers

Back when these two teams were first available from Tudor, the real life AFL Raiders would have easily handled the NFL Steelers. The Steelers in 1967 were worse than my Eagles, going 4-9-1 while finishing at the bottom of the NFL Century Division. The Raiders, on the other hand, were AFL Champions with a 13-1 regular season record. Their second loss of the season came against the Packers in Super Bowl II.

Franco Harris runs into football lore…

Once the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, these two teams had some epic playoff contests, including the “Immaculate Reception” game in December 1972. So this matchup, in real life, is a historical one.

This 1967 electric football matchup is pretty historical too. Both teams are “large” and the Steelers are wearing their yellow yolk uniforms, which Tudor only painted during 1967 and 1968. And the Raider team, which was only available in “Dark,” does not have a black stripe on its helmet. Although the Raiders’ player pictured in the 1967 Tudor catalog is wearing a helmet with a stripe, the stripe was left off at least some of the production Raiders (these are my original Raiders – they came straight from Brooklyn to me.) And there’s something unique about the silver paint that was used. It really says “Raiders.”

Anyway you look at it, it’s a classic matchup. Hopefully the real game upholds the Steelers-Raiders legacy.

Pressman Vibro Power Football – Rarest Electric Football Game of All?

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Earl

The Pressman Vibro-Power Football game in the 1963 Sears Christmas Book

When people ask about the rarest electric football game, I have no trouble answering. It was the first electric football I ever owned, the Pressman Vibro-Power Football game. The game was a Christmas present in 1963 when I was just three years old. I don’t remember receiving it, but I do remember the game residing in the attic until we moved in the early 1970’s. It was broken by then, and missing most of its players. But the thought of the game, even to this day, still inspires wonder.

Vibro-Power Football was made and sold by Pressman Toys in 1963, even garnering space on page 100 of the Sears 1963 Christmas Book. The game board itself was completely made of plastic, with a 20″ x 13 ” field that was vibrated by 2-D batteries (thus “safe” for a three-year-old…fortunately, I was never big about putting things in my mouth).

Tudor Track and Field figures 1963

It came with 22 very Tudor looking players. In fact, the two-piece design of the Pressman players was exactly the same as the figures on Tudor’s Track and Field, Horse Race, and Sports Car Race games. (It’s possible they were Tudor produced– the companies were just miles away from each other.) Finishing off the game were wire goalposts, a first down marker, and a wedge-shaped kicker-passer device that was much like the early Gotham “quarterbacks.”

I don’t remember if the game played well or not. My memories are of pushing the players around the field — that already had a large crack in it. It wasn’t vibrating during those attic play days, although it is possible that the game was simply lacking batteries.

It gets the “Extremely Rare!” designation because after two decades of toy collecting, I’ve only come across one on eBay — priced at $400! Before that…never. Not in yard sales, local antiques shows, or serious regional toy shows. And it never surfaced during the many years I ran electric football “want ads” in Toy Shop and Toy Trader.

Part of this scarcity owes to the game being produced for only a single year…a year in which it probably wasn’t a big seller. Add the low numbers to the obviously fragile plastic design and you have the perfect storm for “rare.” It wasn’t like a big metal electric Tudor or Gotham model where parents could have doubts as to the actual condition of the game. The plastic field made it easy to see when the game was broken…it was easy to declare as “junk.” Few Vibro-Power Football games were sold, and most of them ended waiting on the curb for the trash truck.

Amazingly, the Pressman Toy Company is still in business. Maybe one day they’ll do a repo of the game. In the meantime, I’ll keep on searching.

Earl

Electric Football NFL Preview – Baltimore Ravens vs. 1967 “BIG” Philadelphia Eagles

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Earl

Electric football Raven and 1967 big men Philadelphia Eagles

The modern Miggle Ravens vs. ’67 “large” Eagles

Some of you already know that I’m an Eagles fan. The first live NFL game I saw was the Eagles vs. the Baltimore Colts on September 24, 1967. My dad and I sat way up in the upper deck of Philadelphia’s historic Franklin Field and watched hopefully as the Eagles put the first six points on the scoreboard. Then the Colts got their powerful offense in gear and reeled off the next 38 points. The Eagles never scored again – 38-6 was the final.

It was a typical result for the time, as the Eagles were pretty lousy back then (QB Norm Snead threw four interceptions). But on the field for the Colts that afternoon were future NFL Hall-of-Famers Johnny Unitas, Lenny Moore, Raymond Berry, John Mackey, and Jim Parker. And coaching the Colts was a guy named Don Shula. The Eagles weren’t quite as impressive, but center Jim Ringo and TE Mike Ditka were both on their way to the Hall of Fame.

It was quite the introduction to the NFL, and the die was cast – I would be an NFL “lifer” and also an Eagles fan. Of course one of the first things I did after getting my first Tudor NFL game (a Santa-delivered No. 620) was order the Eagles. They were a lot better on the No. 620 than they were in real life.

This Sunday the Eagles host a different Baltimore team, the Ravens. The way the Ravens played last weekend, I doubt that my “large” 1967 Eagles would be any match for Joe Flacco and company. Despite their oversized features, my big men Eagles wouldn’t be able to deal with the speed and power of the modern-day Ravens. There just wasn’t enough talent. Not even Don Shula could help them.

Anyway, we’ll see what the real-life 2012 Eagles can do.

Earl

Coleco’s Electric Football Debut – What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Earl

1970 Coleco Electric Football box

When Coleco jumped into electric football in 1970, it produced some very striking games. The company had done its homework well. Coleco’s games were solidly built and featured inviting graphics, on the field and off. The large 3-D grandstands were true attention-grabbers.

The box artwork was also bold and attractive. But when looked at closely…there was something curious about the game photo Coleco had put on its box lids. Something looked oddly familiar. That’s because while the field and grandstand were brand new Coleco creations, the players, the goal posts, the end zone flags, and the first down marker, were all Tudor-produced.

The Tudor players were thinly disguised with a very basic blue and white paint job (one team had blue jerseys with white pants, while the other team had the reverse color scheme). Painted bases provided a little more camouflage, but the distinct player poses gave the figures away as clearly belonging to Tudor. And there was no disguising the rest of the parts – they were Tudor through and through.

The explanation for what Coleco did was a simple one. Coleco’s new players and accessories weren’t yet in production when the box artwork was created (most likely late 1969 or early 1970). So they substituted Tudor players and parts – and hoped nobody would notice.

Tudor players as pictured on a 1970 Coleco Electric Football game box lid.

Coleco never asked for permission to use the Tudor accessories. It served as a signal of just how aggressive Coleco was going to be with electric football. So Norman Sas and Lee Payne spent the fall of 1970 looking at Coleco boxes that featured Tudor players. Legal action was a possibility, but Norman ultimately took it as a form of flattery.

“We all copied each other,” said Norman Sas. “All the toy manufacturers did in those days.”

The Unforgettable Buzz covers the ruthless competition between Tudor and Coleco in great detail. It’s a story not to be missed.

Earl & Roddy

Electric Football in Canada Part II – Eagle Toys 1962-63

Posted on September 4, 2012 by admin

image of 1963 Eagle electric football game

1962 Eagle Toys Canadian Electric Football game

When Canadian toy maker Munro Games stepped off the electric football field in 1961, it was Montreal-based Eagle Toys who laced up its cleats to fill the void.

Munro and Eagle were fierce rivals, essentially being the Canadian version of Tudor and Gotham. But this rivalry was over table hockey, not electric football, and it extended to both the Canadian and American toy markets.

Eagle had a licensing agreement with the NHL, which allowed their table hockey games and teams to come outfitted with official NHL logos. Ontario-based Munro Games cleverly used city names on games and players. The “Maple Leafs,” for example, had blue uniforms with “Toronto” across their chests on the Munro game.

Eagle Canadien

In electric football, Munro had made its own game boards and then finished them off with Gotham parts and accessories. Eagle was taking a more challenging route in 1962. They were manufacturing all the parts of their new electric football games.

Munro Canadien

Eagle’s new game was made entirely of metal, measuring a very Tudor No. 500-like 26” long x 14” wide. The field was 110-yards long with dual 50-yard lines, and had 12-players per team. Along the side of the frame were pennants featuring Canadian Football League city names. The players were modeled after Tudor’s current players, and were slightly larger overall with longer and wider bases.

Simpson-Sears had the Eagle electric football game for sale in the 1962 Christmas catalog. Then in 1963, Eaton’s of Canada took a turn at selling Eagle’s game. But after two years, Eagle left the Canadian electric football market. Like Munro they had discovered that there just wasn’t much profit to be made.

But also like Munro, Eagle would return to electric football. Only Eagle would do it under a new name: Coleco.

Our book will detail the Eagle/Coleco relationship, and feature a firsthand account of Coleco’s very calculated entry in electric football in 1970. Learn the whole story this fall in The Unforgettable Buzz.

Earl & Roddy

Ranking Electric Football In Toy History

Posted on August 28, 2012 by admin

Quantifying Electric Football’s popularity through the years is a difficult task. The obvious way would be to measure sales figures, but those figures, at least for years when the game was at its peak, are lost to history. (our book The Unforgettable Buzz details this loss.)

And since Tudor was always a privately owned company, there was no stock price to follow and graph over time. Tudor didn’t have to issue public shareholder statements – there are no published financial figures to show when the company was hot, or when it was not.

But it might be argued that, thanks to Tudor’s NFL connection, neither sales figures nor dollar signs could adequately measure electric football’s true popularity.

So, where does electric football fall in the grand universe of toys?

Back in 1998, when eBay was in its infancy, the publication Toy Shop assembled a list of “The Greatest Toys of All Time.” Toy Shop, at the time, was the unquestioned king of all toy-collecting publications, with each issue featuring hundred of pages of ads and “want” lists. It was considered the voice of vintage toys.

Toy Shop ranked 40 toys in all, going from 1 to 40. Coming in at No. 1 was Mr. Potato Head. No. 2 was Tinker Toys.

At No. 13 was…electric football.

This placement put it behind Barbie, GI Joe, the Big Wheel, the Slinky, Frisbee, Etch-A-Sketch, and Crayola Crayons. Fair enough. But, electric football placed ahead of such toy icons as Silly Putty, Tonka Trucks, Hot Wheels, Monopoly, View-Master, Hula Hoop, Rock’em Sock’em Robots, Lego, Lite Brite, Mystery Date, Chatty Kathy.

Unfortunately, Toy Shop ceased publication in 2008 (an unfortunate victim of eBay and Craig’s List). So this list will have to stand. But we’ll take it. We think it’s a pretty strong and accurate assessment of electric football. Those full-color Christmas catalog pages don’t lie. Hopefully one day we can all make the Toy Hall of Fame recognize Electric Football’s place in the all-time toy lineup.

Earl & Roddy

Electric Football in Canada – Munro Games 1960-61

Posted on August 22, 2012 by admin

The 1960 Munro Electric Football game.

By the mid-1950’s electric football games were showing up in Canada. Tudor’s games became “Canadian Approved” in 1955, and Tudor’s rival Gotham Pressed Steel had gotten its games into the 1956 Simpson-Sears Christmas catalog (the Canadian equivalent of the Sears Christmas Book.) But these were American games – the fields were only 100 yards long, and there were only 11 players per team.

The first true Canadian electric football game was produced by Munro Games of Burlington, Ontario. Munro, at the time, was known for its table hockey games, and was the main supplier of hockey games to Sears. They also supplied table hockey parts to Gotham. Then in 1959 Munro bought electric football parts from Gotham – players, goal posts, footballs, yard markers, and vibrator coils – and put their own electric football game on the Canadian market in 1960.

Munro produced the game board, which had a very hockey-like design. At 36” in length it had the distinction of being the longest electric football game ever made. But it was only 16” wide, which made it just barely wider than a Tudor No. 500. The Masonite field, being long and narrow, had an unfortunate “scale” issue.

1961 Munro Electric Football w/scoreboard.

Another electric football “first” was the game’s 110-yard field. But there were only 22 players in all, leaving it two players short of being truly Canadian. (Considering how narrow the field was, it was probably better not to have 12-player teams.) Not surprisingly, the game had rounded corners like a hockey game. The metal frame was solidly built, and finished off with colorful frame graphics.

Simpson-Sears featured the game – in full-color – in its 1960 and 1961 Christmas catalogs. Despite this help from Simpson-Sears, Munro’s ambitions in electric football proved to be ahead of its time. Even after adding an overhead scoreboard in 1961 – a very hockey-like scoreboard – the game was not a big seller. It was left out of the Munro game lineup for 1962 and put into permanent retirement.

Yet it would not be Munro’s last hurrah in electric football. The Unforgettable Buzz has the “inside story” of Munro’s flamboyant reentry into electric football just a decade later. Be sure not to miss it.

Earl & Roddy

The Franklin Mint & Electric Football — A Brief Golden Moment

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Earl

The note was cryptic…yet quite enticing.

“John Showers Franklin Mint Upscale version of football need a couple of games.”

It was November of 1994. I was working at a branch of NIH in Baltimore, and was just getting a chance to sit down at my desk. A phone call from the Franklin Mint? After a moment it made some sense. My article “First and Goal” had just appeared in the October issue of Collecting Toys.

The magazine was now getting a lot of mail about electric football. People were discovering just how many electric football devotees were out there, and also just discovering that Miggle Toys had resurrected the game. It was an exciting moment to be a part of electric football.

But I wasn’t ready for what happened next. When I returned the call, it turned out that John Showers was the Director of Conceptual Development for the Franklin Mint, which at the time, was one of the largest producers of collectibles in the world. It had 2,000 employees, a 187-acre corporate campus just down the road from where I grew up, and a museum. It even had its own credit union and Franklin Mint stores scattered throughout the country. In collectibles, there was no bigger name than Franklin Mint.

Franklin Mint’s $555 Monopoly Game

Mr. Showers was pretty fired up, it sounded like a brainstorming session had just finished. My mind boggled as he talked about the most elaborate and luxurious electric football game ever. Leather sides, wooden stands, lights, gold plated men, all advertised and promoted through Franklin Mint’s ubiquitous mailers, newspaper ads, and magazine ads. The game would be done in a similar fashion to the Franklin Mint’s $555 Monopoly Collector’s Edition.

I think Mr. Showers deflated a bit when I told him that somebody was again making electric football – he would likely need their permission to move forward with his fantastic concept. I did give him Miggle’s phone number…but that was the last I ever heard of this grand game, either from the Franklin Mint or Miggle Toys.

With help from the internet, the collectibles market that the Franklin Mint specialized in began to dry up. The company went into bankruptcy in the early 2000’s and now the enormous campus sits as an empty and overgrown tribute to an era when collectible plates and dolls promised ever-expanding profits.

I still have my notes from the conversation. When I read them now, I marvel at the moment. How close did electric football come to being changed forever? Would electric football really have worked as a mass-produced collectible?

I don’t have the answer, but I think what matters most is that there are still lots of authentic electric football pieces out there to collect. And we should treasure each and every one of them.

Earl

Strange But True Electric Football Stories

Posted on August 14, 2012 by admin

In September of 1969, the New York Jets were holding their practices on the grounds of the Rikers Island prison, which sits in the East River near La Guardia Airport. The Jets were practicing at the prison because the New York Mets were making their improbable run to the World Series. Both teams shared Shea Stadium, and the Jets also held their in-season practices there. So the Jets were now doing their part to be good neighbors and keep the stadium field as pristine as possible.

The prisoners at Rikers Island were allowed to watch the practices, and were enjoying their up-close-and-personal view of Joe Namath and the Super Bowl champion Jets. And Joe wanted to give the prisoners a chance to do more than just spectate his pinpoint passing.

Although Tudor was the originator of electric football, they were not the only company to make electric football games. The Gotham Pressed Steel Corporation of the Bronx had been competing with Tudor since 1954. And in 1969 Gotham even landed a personal endorsement deal with Joe Namath. For the fall of 1969 Gotham was making a Joe Namath Electric Football Game, complete with a special metal Joe Namath quarterback figure.

In a promotional event that was surely masterminded by Gotham president Eddie Gluck, Namath donated a number of his personally endorsed electric football games to the prison. Supposedly Namath was showing his appreciation for the Jets being able to use the prison field. But it didn’t hurt that Namath’s generosity was written up in a nationally syndicated column by Leonard Lyons.*

Warden Buono reportedly didn’t miss a beat, thanking Namath for his generosity:

“That’s nice, Joe. The boys here haven’t got any place to go at night.”

There was no word on how quickly the prisoners put together an NFL team order to Brooklyn…

The Unforgettable Buzz will detail how Eddie Gluck and Gotham shaped the direction of electric football despite being outsold by Tudor. It’s a story not to be missed.

Earl

* “The Lyon’s Den,” page 35, The San Mateo Times, September 24, 1969.

Electric Football Magic

Posted on August 10, 2012 by admin

My journey to becoming a lifelong Viking fan began when my older brother and I bought our first electric football game in 1969. It was the Tudor NFL No. 620. Was there a better electric football game to own in 1969?

Roald, being a Giants’ fan, was all set. But I knew that the Browns, despite all their history, weren’t for me. So I began to study the grandstand of the No. 620, specifically the top where Lee Payne had created that distinctive façade of NFL team helmets. My eyes kept returning to the purple helmet. It was clear that the Vikings were “my” team.

So I scraped up $2.75, put it in an envelope to Brooklyn, and checked the mailbox everyday – just like Ralphie in The Christmas Story waiting for his Ovaltine decoder ring. The thrill of opening that box and seeing those…wait, blue Vikings??

It didn’t matter. I had my team. Roald and I played on our No. 620 all season long, and with help from CBS we watched the Vikings dominate the NFL. Unfortunately, it didn’t end well for the “Purple People eaters,” but it was still was a magical year for electric football and me. And it was pretty magical for the Vikings, too.

My “journey” is exactly what NFL Properties had in mind when they gave the NFL license to Tudor. Similar scenarios have played out over and over through the years. Electric football has delivered countless fans – and coaches and players – to the NFL.

Till next time keep, your finger on the switch.
Roddy

Before Electric Football – Part 1

Posted on August 6, 2012 by admin

Having football players “run” on a game board was something toy makers and inventors had dreamed about long before Norman Sas took over Tudor in 1948 and invented Electric Football.

So one of our goals in researching and writing The Unforgettable Buzz was to find other football games that tried to incorporate moving players. Thanks to the help of the U.S. Patent Office we were able to go all the way back to 1905, finding what we believe is the earliest officially documented attempt to create an “action” football game.

Inventor John L.E. Pell had to be thinking about his game much sooner than 1905 because a patent application has never been a simple thing to throw together. And Mr. Pell’s “Game Apparatus” was far from a simple thing, consisting of a cloth game board with five-yard markings, goal posts, and a foldable frame. There were also 22 players, including the game’s most unique feature – a scrimmage line of “hanging” wooden players.

Two moveable wires ran across and above the field (one for each team), and from these wires hung a scrimmage line consisting of seven offensive and defensive linemen. These players were hinged at the waist, and could swing back and forth creating their own type of “action.” In addition to the linemen, each team had four “backs,” which were actually half-players (torso only) mounted on round wooden bases.

A “play” consisted of flicking the player (back) with ball, sliding him through or around the hanging scrimmage line. The player on defense could position his backs strategically in the gaps between the scrimmage line players, or put them out wide to cover the areas outside the static-hanging players.

The play ended when the flicked ball carrier stopped moving or ran into an opposing player. There was no need for a passing game because when Mr. Pell conceived his game the flying wedge was still legal…and the forward pass wasn’t. In fact, Mr. Pell included instructions for flicking multiple backs at the line of scrimmage for a “line-bucking” play.

So long before electric football, people were dreaming of having a foot-ball game (Mr. Pell’s 1905 spelling) where the players could run on their own. Of all the people who dreamed and tried, it was Norman Sas who made it happen.

Earl

Interview on KKTK Fox Sports Radio 1400

Posted on August 3, 2012 by admin

Earl Shores was interviewed by Chuck Zach and Tony Kirk on the “Headin Home Show” about Norman Sas and Electric Football (July 11). They were great hosts, with a lot of appreciation for what Norman did with the game.

Audio of the interview is now available. Click here to listen.

EF is Still Buzzing Part II – The Miniature Football Coaches Association Convention

Posted on July 31, 2012 by admin

Action at the 2011 MFCA Convention
(photo courtesy of MFCA)

It really is a wonderful thing that Seattle-based Tudor Games is still making electric football. Thank you Doug Strohm!

But this weekend there’s no doubt that the center of the electric football universe is in Cleveland, Ohio. More specifically, at the Embassy Suites Cleveland-Rockside, where the Miniature Football Coaches Association will hold their 5th annual convention from August 3rd to the 5th.

Over 70 coaches are expected at the event, which features some of the most dedicated hobbyists in all of electric football. They have refined player movement and play calling to such a sophisticated level that it almost defies physical law. Most of us never had the audacity to dream what these coaches make look routine.

And then there’s the stunning player painting and player detailing that will also be on display over the weekend. Not to mention custom built fields and stadiums. It’s a head-spinning experience for any electric football fan.

Yet the MFCA goes beyond just holding a convention and tournament for the most committed and talented practitioners of electric football. The organization – now over 300 members strong – is dedicated to keeping the game alive for everyone. For those of us who are simply happy to swap the bases around on our “stock” late 60’s NFL teams, we’re just as welcome as the coach who has spent hours hand-painting a custom-posed squad of NFL-caliber players.

The MFCA understands that a lot of people view electric football as something very special, yet many of us fall at different points on the “special” continuum. And we’re all welcome, no matter where we are.

Thanks to the MFCA, electric football should keep buzzing strong for years to come.
Thanks Lynn, and good luck coaches!!!

Earl & Roddy

Be sure to check out the MFCA site. There will be convention updates throughout the weekend.
http://miniaturefootball.org/