10 Years of Remembering Electric Football Inventor Norman Sas

We hope you enjoy this updated video tribute to Electric Football inventor and former Tudor Games President Norman Sas, who passed away 10 years ago today. What makes his legacy special is that so many of us found joy in the game he invented. Just try and contemplate a world without Electric Football. Here’s to the man who gave us “the buzz.”

Please help keep the Buzz and Norman’s Legacy going by nominating Tudor Electric Football for the Toy Hall of Fame in 2022. The link to the nomination form is below.

https://www.museumofplay.org/exhibits/toy-hall-of-fame/nominate-a-toy/

 

 

Electric Football Timeline 1979 – Even Tudor Goes Electronic

Electric Football Timeline 1979 Tudor games and NFL teams

The Toy World Goes Electronic

Tudor was still selling Electric Football games and teams…and at this point, they were the only company making Electric Football.

Tudor NFL Teams from the 1979 Rule Book

Electric Football Timeline 1979 Tudor Sears Woolco Electronic Football

But 120 new electronic games were set to debut at Toy Fair. And by the end of the year Tudor would be selling its own Electronic Football game.

Electric Football Timeline 1979 Sears Christmas Catalog NFL

Tudor once again carried almost a full page of items in Sears. But Electric Football Christmas ads were few and far between.

Ads for electronic games however

Electric Football Timeline 1979 Toy R Us Electronic Games ad

…were everywhere.

 

Earl & Roddy

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

ELectric Football Book The Unforgettable Buzz order now button

Electric Football Timeline 1978 – Sold Out For Tudor

Electric Football Timeline 1979 Tudor

An Electric Football Sell Out

Tudor was riding high into 1978. They completely sold out their Super Bowl line in previous year, and were going to earned their first Sears Excellence Award since 1974.

Electric Football TImeline 1978 Tudor Sold out Super Bowl

Part of the reason for that was that Coleco’s attention was now elsewhere in the toy world.

Electric Football Timeline 1978 Coleco Telstar

Coleco ad in Playthings

Tudor Games was also celebrating its 50th anniversary of being in business, which Playthings did a feature on the Toy Fair issue. And the Electric Football line had been redesigned slightly…with Tudor even getting back in the Ward Christmas catalog.

Electric Football Timeline 1978 Redesigned line of games

Electric Football Timeline 1978 Tudor Ward Super Bowl

The company also had another Sears page full of Tudor items.

Electric Football Timeline 1978 Sears Christmas catalog

Tudor with almost a full page of items in the 1978 Sears Christmas Catalog.

But 1978 was going to be defined by one item. It was a football item, and it was going to end the year as the biggest seller in toy history. That toy was Mattel’s Electronic Football game. This burping and bleating plastic box would change toys forever.

Electric Football Timeline 1978 Mattel Electronic Football

Mattel’s Electronic Football and Auto Race game.

Or at least the next five years.

 

Earl & Roddy

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

ELectric Football Book The Unforgettable Buzz order now button

Electric Football Timeline 1977 – A Tudor Resurgence

Electric Football Timeline 1977 Tudor Super Bowl game

Tudor was all about the Super Bowl in 1977.

A Tudor Resurgence in 1977

After a surprisingly successful 1976, and with competition in the Electric Football marketplace essentially non-existent, Norman Sas consolidated Tudor’s line for 1977.

There would only be three games, with the top model being the Super Bowl. And the Super Bowl was the theme of 1977, even being on the cover of the Tudor sales catalog.

Electric Football Timeline 1977 Tudor Super Bowl box and game

In 1977 Sears was no longer the exclusive seller of the Tudor Super Bowl.

That meant that Sears would no longer be the only sellers of a Super Bowl game. They would get a model that was exclusive to Sears – but you no longer had to go to Sears to buy a Super Bowl.

Electric Football Timeline 1977 Tudor Sears Super Bowl game

Tudor’s Sears Super Bowl game.

Tudor was doing well in the Christmas catalogs, even having almost a full Tudor page of items in both Sears Penney’s.

Electric Football Timeline 1977 Tudor JC Penney

Tudor had nearly an entire Christmas Catalog page of in items in JC Penney. Including a Super Bowl game.

1977 Electric Football Timeline ads

Electric Football reappears in Christmas advertising, including Sears. It turned out to be a good year for Tudor and Electric Football.

 

Earl & Roddy

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

ELectric Football Book The Unforgettable Buzz order now button

Electric Football Timeline 1976 – Toy World Goes Electronic

ELectric Football Timeline 1976 Tudor Sears Video games

What Electric Football was up against in 1976.

America’s Bicentennial Year

The American Bicentennial year started with Coleco launching its Telstar home video game console at Toy Fair.

Electric Football TImeline 1976 Coleco Telstar

Coleco Telstar Console

In addition, 1976 started with Munro Games on the way to bankruptcy (July).

Electric Football Timeline 1976 Tudor NFL Super Bowl Sears christmas catalog

1976 Sears Christmas Catalog

So neither company was overly concerned about Electric Football anymore. That left Tudor as Electric Football’s standard bearer. And the one company who actually cared about the game.

Electric Football Timeline 1976 Ward and Penney Christmas catalogs

While most of the toy industry headed toward computer-chip electronic games, Tudor kept the buzz alive. Even if Ward was once again going to sell an aging Coleco Electric Football game.

Electric Football was completely shut out the Christmas advertising done by Sears, Ward, and JC Penney. Only Toys R Us and Western Auto remained true to Electric Football. The Tudor variety, that is.

Electric Football Timeline 1976 Western Auto ad

This Western Auto ad gives a good idea of what Electric Football was up against. Brunswick Air Hockey, Coleco Telstar – and a $20 price tag.

 

Earl & Roddy

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

ELectric Football Book The Unforgettable Buzz order now button

Tudor Moves To Brooklyn in December of 1945

Electric Football creator Tudor Metal Products moved to Brooklyn in 1945

Electric Football groundwork was laid 74 years ago this month, when Tudor Metal Products moved from Manhattan to a brand new factory in Brooklyn. This six-story building at 176 Johnson Street would gain iconic stature in the 1960’s and 1970’s, as millions of hard earned pennies, nickels, and dimes were sent to that address for NFL Electric Football teams and accessories.

But in December of 1945 Tudor was not yet making Electric Football. Running the company at the time were Elmer Sas (Norman Sas’ father) and Gene Levay. Both men were in good spirits after finishing a profitable period of making items for the Department of Defense, and they placed a cheery full-page ad in the toy industry journal Playthings announcing Tudor move to the new building.

Things didn’t work out quite the way Sas and Levay hoped over the next several years, but the move to Brooklyn did ultimately prove to be a positive for the company. And this ad, with the drawing of the iconic Tudor factory, is one of those fantastic “finds” that helped us put together the story of Electric Football. It’s a great piece of toy history from a time when New York City was at the center of the toy making universe.

Wishing everyone a great Holiday Season — and let’s all be thankful that Tudor Games and Electric Football are still alive and well in 2019!

 

Earl & Roddy

DSCN3889

176 Johnson Street today.

Electric Football Timeline 1975 – More Toy World Turmoil

Electric Football Timeline 1975 Coleco Tudor Munro Air Hockey

Sign of the times. A new item from Tudor, shrunken games from Munro, and no Electric Football on the cover of the Coleco catalog.

Munro Games Is In Trouble

Munro Games overextended itself in both Electric Football and table hockey in the early 1970s. So by 1975 the company is in deep financial trouble. Desperately trying to make a go in Air Hockey while essentially betting the company’s entire fate on the game.

Electric Football Timeline 1975 Munro Bob Griese game without artwork

The plight of Munro Games – a Bob Griese game that shipped without any artwork on the frame.

Electric Football consisted of whatever is leftover from 1973 and 1974. The fact that there is leftover stock – games nobody wanted – emphasized Munro’s dire plight.

Electric Football Timeline 1975 COleco catalog with no Electric Football on the cover

The 1975 Coleco Sales Catalog – there’s no Electric Football on the cover.

Coleco is still making Electric Football. But the company has its focus almost fully elsewhere. Competing with Brunswick in the Air Hockey category with their Power-Jet Hockey, while watching the success of the Magnavox Odyssey and Atari Pong console games.

Changes For Tudor Games

That leaves Tudor as the Electric Football stalwart, even though Ward decided to go with Coleco as their Electric Football supplier. This decision would have been based on what games Coleco “guaranteed” to Ward in a package deal.

Electric Football Timeline 1975 Ward and KC Penney Christmas catalogs

Everyone in the toy business knew that if you wanted Electric Football, Tudor was the the best. And Tudor had been the Ward Electric Football supplier since 1962. There was no way around it for Norman Sas. The loss of Ward was going to hurt Tudor’s 1975 sales figures. More evidence of how the toy world was changing.

Electric Football Timeline 1975 Tudor NFL Super Bowl Sears Christmas catalog

For Tudor, things continued to change at Sears. The mammoth retailer only wanted to sell two Tudor models instead of the usual three. And only the Super Bowl would be an NFL game. This meant Tudor would have to live with the wafer thin profit from the Sears’ No. 500 model. Revenues for the year would be further reduced.

Electric Football did appear in Christmas season advertising, but wasn’t featured like previous years by Sears and Ward. It would be a year that only the strongest toy companies would survive.

 

Earl & Roddy

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

ELectric Football Book The Unforgettable Buzz order now button

Electric Football Timeline 1974 – A Year of Change

Electric Football Timeline 1974 Tudor Munro Brunswick

Both Tudor and Munro were downsizing in 1974 because of the recession.

 Oil Crisis Hits the Economy

The oil crisis hit the U.S. at the end of 1973. This sent the U.S. economy into free fall and the toy business into turmoil, with toy shortages during the 1973 Christmas season. The toy business was changed dramatically. All the way from what toy makers wanted to produce to what retailers wanted to put on their shelves.

Electric Football timeline 1974 Brunswick Air Hocky

Electric Football had serious Christmas competition in 1974.

And in the sports game category, where Electric Football was king, there was a new competitor. And it wasn’t another football game. Although Aurora Computerized Monday Night Football was making its mark.

It was Brunswick Air Hockey. Toy stores were selling through entire stocks within hours of receiving them.

Electric Football Timeline 1974 Munro Games Namath

Munro’s 1974 Joe Namath game came with cardboard floodlights.

The sign of changing times in Electric Football first showed at Toy Fair, where Munro’s 1974 Day/Nite game came without working floodlights. The lights were now made of cardboard.

There was also no Electric Football advertising in the Toy Fair issue of Playthings. In fact, Tudor ran nothing at all in Playthings. It was the first time since WWII that had happened. And it spoke volumes for what was going on in the toy world.

Electric Football Timeline 1974 Tudor NFL Sears Super Bowl

In 1974 Sears asked Tudor to make a smaller and more affordable Super Bowl model.

Norman Sas already knew of another major sign of how the toy world was shifting. Sears still wanted a Super Bowl game, but they wanted a smaller one at a cheaper price point (or at the same price point as Tudor’s earlier SB’s had been).

Tudor was still the NFL’s top money maker, but 1974 was going to be a challenge unlike any other he had faced during his time at Tudor. The long-planned 1974 expansion of Tudor’s own Electric Football line now seemed ill-advised.

A Dramatic Year of Change

Electric Football Timeline 1975 Coleco Bowl A Matic

Coleco was no longer focused on Electric Football in 1974.

Coleco was still making Electric Football, but looked at the game as almost an afterthought. The company was headed in a different direction at this point, that being an electronic one. And one of the best-sellers Coleco would have in 1974 was their Bowl-A-Matic 300 game.

Even with a smaller Super Bowl game, Tudor was the undisputed Christmas catalog Electric Football champion.

Electric Football timeline 1974 Tudor NFL games in Christmas catalogs

The 1974 Sears, Ward, and JC Penney Christmas catalogs, all with Tudor NFL games.

Electric Football was still prominent in Christmas season advertising, although it certainly had company from Air Hockey. The majority of the games featured were Tudor models.

It was a dramatic year of change in the toy world. And these changes would not be temporary ones.

 

Earl & Roddy

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

ELectric Football Book The Unforgettable Buzz order now button

Electric Football Timeline 1973 Pt. II – Coleco and Christmas

Electric Football 1973 Tudor Sears Penneys Ward Colec

Too Much Electric Football Part 2

Coleco was also starting to downsize and economize, making smaller Electric Football games and games with more plastic in them – i.e. cheaper games. They were even making several Electric Football models that didn’t have usable end zones like the one below in the Alden’s Christmas catalog.

1973 aldens catalog Electric football coleco

Electric Football 1973 Penney Christmas catalog Coleoc

A downsized Coleco game with more plastic parts.

Tudor’s Electric Football games were dominant again in the major Christmas catalogs, and in Christmas advertising.

Electric Football 1973 Sears Tudor Christmas

Tudor NFL games in the Ward and JC Penney Christmas catalogs.

Electric Football 1973 Ward Penney Christmas catalog Tudor

Despite a television ad campaign involving The Tonight Show, Munro found its Day/Nite Game in Sears Surplus Stores as Christmas neared.

 

1973 Electric Football Timeline newspaper ads

Oh, and we didn’t even mention the November 1973 Oil Crisis that sent the U.S. economy into a recession. That complete story is in The Unforgettable Buzz.

 

Earl & Roddy

 

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

Electric Football Timeline 1973 Pt. I – Too Much EF

Electric Football 1973 Tudor NFL Munro

Too Much Electric Football

Almost 40 different Electric Football games were available in 1972. That was a much different number from a decade earlier, when Tudor and Gotham combined for a grand total of four different models in 1962. And while it was a testament to the Electric Football’s immense popularity, the marketplace really wasn’t big enough to carry such a wide variety of games.

Electric Football 1973 Munro Joe Namath

Yet this did little to dissuade the ever-ambitious Munro Games. The company showed up at Toy Fair with 11 Electric Football games, including three different Joe Namath models. (The Joe Namath endorsement was the main reason that Munro bought Gotham).

Electric Football 1973 Tudor Games line

A New Logo and a New Name For Tudor

Tudor came to Toy Fair with a new name and logo. “Metal Products” was gone from the name, replaced by the more fun sounding “Tudor Games.” In addition to the new Tudor name, there were redesigned graphics and packaging. The Electric Football line had been streamlined as well. Tudor cut the number of NFL games it was selling in half. There were only four NFL models this year, compared to last year’s eight.

Norman Sas knew that there were too many companies selling too many games. The Electric Football marketplace was going to be a challenge in 1973. Even for Tudor Games, who had the advantage of the NFL license.

 

Earl & Roddy

 

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

ELectric Football Book The Unforgettable Buzz order now button

Electric Football Timeline 1972 Pt. II – Tudor, Coleco, and Gotham

Electric Football 1972 Timeline Tudor Coleco

A Battle For Toy Buyers

With four different companies making Electric Football games, catalog space and toy store shelf space was becoming scarce. The problem was so serious that by summer there would only be three Electric Football makers left, as the ever ambitious Munro Games absorbed Gotham.

Electric Football 1972 Sears Christmas catalog

Sears offered Tudor, Coleco, and Munro Electric Football space in its 1972 Christmas Wish Book. Tudor had the most real estate – all of it in color – while Munro also got a color page. While Coleco was relegated to black and white.

Electric Football 1972 Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog

Ward was totally Tudor with two Ward-specific models. J.C. Penney went with Coleco Command Control as its featured game, including a Coleco model with legs. Spiegel also favored Coleco’s Electric line.

Electric Football 1972 Coleco JC Penney

Electric Football 1972 Christmas ads

Electric Football was everywhere at Christmas, with both Sears and Ward putting large Tudor games in their ads. And there were a lot of ads in 1973. Electric Football’s profile had never been higher.

 

Earl & Roddy

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

ELectric Football Book The Unforgettable Buzz order now button

Electric Football Wishbook Television Interview

Electric Football Wishbook Television Interview on Beyond The Game Television program

The Electric Football Wishbook hit television screens this fall!

Earl Shores of The Unforgettable Buzz recently sat down for a television interview with Beyond The Game’s John Voperian. The topic of the show was The Electric Football Wishbook, which Shores co-authored with Roddy Garcia and Michael Kronenberg.

The Wishbook is a color compilation of Sears, Ward, and Penney sports game Christmas catalog pages from 1955-1988. Over 140 Electric Football games are in the Wishbook, making it one of the most complete collections of Electric Football game images ever published. Truly Christmas morning with every turn of the page!

John has been a great friend and promoter of Electric Football through years. In addition, he’s very knowledgeable of Electric Football. This allowed him to create a great atmosphere for an in depth conversation about the game we all know and love so well.

So be sure to click the link below and enjoy this one of a kind Electric Football conversation. The Electric Football Wishbook tells a unique and compelling part of the Electric Football story.

http://wpcommunitymedia.org/beyond-the-game/08212019-1415

And don’t miss the upcoming Electric Football Wishbook event that’s happening at Reads & Company Saturday, December 7, 2019. Wishbook co-author Earl Shores will be in the store signing books from 11am to 1pm.

The Electric Football Wishbook now available from Tudor Games!

We’re proud to announce that The Electric Football Wishbook is now available from Tudor Games! It’s only fitting that the “Home of Electric Football should carry the book. Make sure to support that company that is keeping the game alive!

 

Electric Football Wishbook order button for television interview

 

 

Electric Football Timeline 1972 Part I – Munro Games Lights Up

Electric Football Timeline 1972 Munro

Munro Lights Up Electric Football

Munro Games was the one making Electric Football headlines at the 1972 Toy Fair. The company showed up with something that had never been seen before in Electric Football.

An Electric Football game with working floodlights.

Electric Football Timeline 1972 Munro Day Nite game

The Munro Day/Section in Full Color Electric Football

Battery operated floodlights to be exact. And they were on a game that Munro intentionally designed to be the biggest in Electric Football history. It was called Monday Nite Football, and its field dimensions were a whopping 40” x 25”. But Munro would soon have to change the name of the game to Day Nite Football. It turned out that Aurora owned the rights to “Monday Night Football.”

Electric Football timeline 1972 The unforgettable buzz Munro Day Nite

Electric football Munro Day Nite Fooltball

Electric Football 1972 Munro Day Nite was sold by Toys R Us

Toys R Us sold Munro’s Day Nite game in 1972

Munro Games now had the most elaborate Electric Football game ever created. The question was, would a game with so many features be affordable – and actually sell.

 

Earl & Roddy

 

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

Electric Football Wishbook Book Signing Event On 12/7

Electric Football Book Signing with Earl Shores at Reads & Company Bookshop

Electric Football Book Signing Event in Phoenixville, PA

Come meet Earl Shores of The Unforgettable Buzz on Saturday, December 7, 2019.

He’ll be at the Reads & Company Bookshop in downtown Phoenixville, PA, from 11am to 1 pm for a very special book signing event with The Electric Football Wishbook . 

The Electric Football Wishbook is an all-color collection of Sears, Ward, and JC Penney sports game Christmas catalog pages. It brings back those long-cherished Christmas Morning memories with every turn of the page.

It’s a real honor for The Unforgettable Buzz to team up with Reads & Company. Reads is a proud independent bookseller and a genuine local business. The bookshop carries on the tradition of the Main Street businesses where so many us of bought our first Electric Football games!

And it’s the perfect place to do lots of Christmas shopping beyond The Electric Football Wishbook.

See you on Saturday!!

Electric Football Wishbook Book Signing with author Earl Shores

Reads & Company Bookshop

11 am – 1 pm Saturday, December 7, 2019

234 Bridge Street

Phoenixville, PA 19460

484-920-3695

Electric Football Wishbook signing at Reads & Company

Electric Football Timeline 1971 Pt. II – Tudor and Gotham

Electric Football Timeline 1971 Part 2 Tudor Gotham

1971 Part II Tudor and Gotham

Tudor continued to bring out new models in 1971, including a College game. Once again they supplied Sears with a Super Bowl, and Ward with a special model. But in Sears they had to endure the infiltration of Coleco, but at least they didn’t have to share a page with the upstart.

Electric Football 1971 Sears Tudor Super Bowl game

1971 Sears Wishbook

Electric Football 1971 Ward Christmas catalog Tudor games

1971 Ward Christmas Catalog and ads for Electric Football

Gotham was adding more professional athlete endorsers to their game line. But the company was struggling against Tudor and Coleco. Let alone the unwelcome addition of Munro Games to the Electric Football mix.

Electric Football 1971 Gotham Sales catalog

1971 Gotham Sales Catalog

Gotham 1971 NFLPA G-1506 Electric Football game

Gotham 1971 NFLPA G-1506 Electric Football game

Electric Football 1971 Toys R Us ad with a Tudor 500 and Gotham Roman Gabriel game. Also Gotham and Coleco Hockey games.

1971 Toys R Us ad with a Tudor 500 and Gotham Roman Gabriel game. Also Gotham and Coleco Hockey games

In December of 1971, this Sports Illustrated Shopwalk column confirms that Tudor NFL Electric Football is the NFL Properties’ best selling item. The quote comes directly from NFL Properties President Bob Carey.

Electric Football’s popularity is at its zenith in 1971. The proof is in the fact that four different toy makers are making Electric Football games. But whether the Electric Football pie is big enough for Tudor, Gotham, Coleco, and Munro remains an unanswered question.

 

Earl & Roddy

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

ELectric Football Book The Unforgettable Buzz order now button

Electric Football Timeline 1971 Pt. 1 – Munro Steps onto the Field

Electric Football 1971 Coleco Command Control and Munro

Coleco Command Control

Coleco continues to push the competition in Electric Football by bringing “Command Control” to Toy Fair. Command Control consists of two metal rods under the game offering magnetic control of one player on each team. Kids playing these games would be able to make the Command Control players go exactly where they wanted them. At least that was Coleco’s pitch in 1971.

1971 Electric Football Timeline Coleco Command COntrol

1971 Coleco sales catalog

And beyond Command Control, 1971 was notable because a fourth toy company joined the Electric Football fray. That company was Munro Games, a table hockey competitor of Coleco. Tudor’s success in Electric Football – they were still the NFL’s top seller – had others wanting a piece of what, at the moment, was a lucrative football pie.

1971 Electric Football Munro Games sales catalog

1971 Munro sales catalog

Munro Games jumped hastily into Electric Football in 1971. In fact, they were so unprepared that they had to use Tudor players on their games at Toy Fair. And also in their sales catalog! Those are actually Giants and Brown on the 90541 game above.

1971 Munro Games ELectric Football game box Canada version

Munro was games in both American and Canadian field configurations in 1971

1971 was shaping up as the most intriguing ever in Electric Football.

 

Earl & Roddy

 

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

ELectric Football Book The Unforgettable Buzz order now button

Electric Football Timeline 1970 Pt. II – Gotham Hangs On

Electric Football 1970 Gotham Pressed Steel Gabriel Namath Super Dome

Gotham Hangs On

Gotham, although cast adrift from Sears, was still grinding away. They had created a new Roman Gabriel Electric Football game, complete with a metal Gabriel QB figure. And they still were the featured Electric Football company in JC Penney, the unique Gotham Super Dome game getting top billing over Tudor.

Electric Football 1970 Gotham Super Dome Roman Gabriel

Electric Football 1970 Gotham Namath

It was still an impressive lineup for Gotham. But the Coleco games were going to take up a lot toy store shelf space.

 

Earl & Roddy

 

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

ELectric Football Book The Unforgettable Buzz order now button

Electric Football Timeline 1970 Pt. 1 – Coleco Steps onto the Field

Electric Football 1970 Coleco becomes the 3rd maker of games

A New Competitor in Coleco

 

Tudor’s success with Electric Football enticed a third toy maker onto the vibrating gridiron in 1970. That company was Coleco, who was no stranger to the sports toy market thanks to their successful line of NHL table hockey games.

A 1970 toy trade ad for the Coleco World of Sports

A 1970 toy trade ad for the Coleco World of Sports

Coleco came to the 1970 Toy Fair touting their “World Of Sports” which would include promises of print and television advertising. Tudor might have finally left Gotham sprawled in the dust, but another very accomplished opponent had just buckled its chinstrap.

Electric Football 1970 Coleco catalog

From the Coleco World of Sports Catalog included in each Coleco game.

Tudor was up for Coleco’s Challenge

With this being the year the NFL and AFL officially merged into a single league, Tudor had completely redesigned its Electric Football line. It included some stunning games, including one that would recreate – accidentally it turned out – the first ABC Monday Night Football game. Tudor was also giving Sears a beautiful Super Bowl game with the Vikings and Chiefs.

Electric Football 1970 Tudor Sears Super Bowl game with Chiefs and Vikings

Game No. 3 on the Countdown: the 1970 Sears No. 633 Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs and Vikings.

Ward a special model that included three NFL teams. Tudor would have three Electric Football games in the Sears Wishbook. Gotham would have none. And the Super Bowl game sold out completely.

Electric Football 1970 Tudor Ward NFL and Coleco

Coleco had even snuck into the Ward Christmas catalog.

More to come in our 1970 Timeline post Part II!

 

Earl & Roddy

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

ELectric Football Book The Unforgettable Buzz order now button

 

Electric Football Timeline 1969 – Tudor Makes a Super Bowl

Electric Football 1969 Sears Tudor Super Bowl game Jets Colts

Twenty years after creating Electric Football, Tudor secured the game’s status as an all-time “Featured Toy.”

They did it with their new Sears-exclusive Super Bowl model, a game that recreated in miniature the most important game in professional football history. That would be the New York Jets’ 16-7 Super Bowl III upset of the heavily favored Baltimore Colts.

Electric Football 1969 Sears Tudor Super Bowl game with Jets and Colts Christmas catalog

The game came with both the Jets and Colts teams in their official Super Bowl uniforms, meaning that Super Bowl MVP Joe Namath was in the Jets lineup at QB. And Tudor also detailed the field of their new game to look just like the real Super Bowl field, even having the Championship trophy at mid-field.

It was a beautiful game that set the benchmark for Electric Football. It would also go on to become the most sought after game in all of Electric Football.

Electric Football 1969 Gotham Joe Namath G-812 game

An Electric Football Landmark from Gotham

But Gotham certainly did its part to make 1969 a landmark year for Electric Football. The company creatively came up with its own Super Bowl model. A Gotham Joe Namath-endorsed game that included a metal Joe Namath passing figure.

1969 Gotham Joe namath metal passer figure

Joe couldn’t wear a Jets uniform because Tudor owned the NFL-AFL license. So Gotham couldn’t put an AFL or a Jets logo anywhere on the game.

Yet Gotham was undeterred, creating a great looking Namath image that is one of the most recognized pieces in all of Electric Football.

Electric Football 1969 Tudor NFL Christmas catalogs

Tudor dominated Electric Football in 1969. Both in Christmas catalogs, and Christmas advertising. Tudor NFL Electric Football is a “must have” Christmas item. And the game was still NFL Properties’ top-earning item.

 

Earl & Roddy

 

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

ELectric Football Book The Unforgettable Buzz order now button

 

Electric Football Timeline 1968 – An AFL Game

Electric Football Tudor AFL 520 model Jets Chiefs

The AFL Gets Electric Football Respect

Tudor expanded their Electric Football line to include an Official AFL game in 1968. The AFL No. 520 model came with the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets, with the Jets being the only AFL team that Tudor ever offered in a white jersey uniform.

Electric Football 1968 Tudor AFL 520 Game Jets vs Chiefs NFL

Featuring the AFL seemed like the natural thing to do, as Tudor’s NFL line had proved so popular that the company sold out all of its NFL games and many of its mail order NFL teams in 1967.

Electric Football in 1968 - Tudor NFL and AFL teams Sears Christmas catalog

There was also good news from NFL Properties. Tudor NFL Electric Football had been one of the league’s top money earning items.

Electric Football 1968 Ward Christmas Catalog Tudor NFL

Norman Sas wasn’t totally surprised. He knew from the multitude of re-stocking requests that Tudor received during the fall of 1967 that the NFL concept was popular. More popular than even he dared to imagine.

 

Earl & Roddy

To learn more about Electric Football, please check out The Unforgettable BuzzElectric Football Wishbook, and Full Color Electric Football!

Full Color Electric Football Book Order Now Tab