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