Earl Shores at Toy Fair 2014 with The Unforgettable Buzz TudorCON 14 display case. Photo by Denise Strohm Chrystowski.

Sometimes it’s being in the right place at the right time. I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days at Toy Fair 2014 last week, once again a guest of Tudor Games President Doug Strohm.

Toy Fair 2014 at the massive Javitz Center in New York City.

The Unforgettable Buzz had a bit more vested this year, as Doug had asked if he could take our TudorCON 14 display case to Toy Fair to show off Electric Football’s storied past. Obviously we were flattered, and eager to do whatever we could to contribute to Tudor’s Toy Fair efforts.

The display served as a “special teams” player in the Tudor Games booth, drawing the attention of buyers and reps who were old enough to have played Electric Football in the 60’s and 70’s. The unquestioned stars at the Toy Fair were Tudor’s new line of SpeedTurf games and the Invisibases. A constant stream of toy traffic found it’s way to the Tudor booth, with more than a few buyers exclaiming “hey, you’re back!” Doug would patiently explain that, actually, Tudor was here last year. Left unsaid was that last year’s games didn’t draw nearly the same kind of attention as this year’s new models.

Denise, Doug, and Jimmy hard at work with buyers at Toy Fair 2014.

The Tudor booth looked amazing, with Doug, Jimmy, and Denise all taking their turns dealing with buyers and their questions. Reps from just about all the major toy retailers stopped by — there’s no question that Electric Football will be available from more places than it has been in a long, long time.

The game’s profile is on the rise thanks to the all new features Tudor has introduced. Doug has worked long and hard on Electric Football’s redesign. He has also worked long and hard on positioning Electric Football in the toy world in such a way that retailers would actually want the game back on their shelves. It’s not been easy, with more than a few potholes along the way.

So it was gratifying to be a fly on the wall last week and watch people in the toy industry actually get excited while standing over an Electric Football game. It’s vital to remember that we’re talking about a game that’s been around for 65 years now. To have excited buyers in 2014 is proof of just how far Doug Strohm has brought Tudor Games Electric Football in a very short time. And it looks like 2014 is going to be a very good year for Electric Football.

Earl

The Tudor booth at the 2014 Toy Fair with The Unforgettable Buzz TudorCON 14 display case,