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.
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).
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
That’s a wild looking grandstand. Who painted the figures in the third photo?
Wish I knew, they were with game. Looks like model paint…it will chip off easily if you’re not careful. The downside of that particular version of Tudor player.