1960 Mag-Powr Electric Football game.

Electric Football got its first “big game” in 1961 when Gotham unveiled the officially NFL-endorsed G-1500. So when Sports Illustrated ran a column in December of 1961 recommending sports games for Christmas, it was a bit of a shock that the magazine’s top-rated action football game didn’t vibrate, and came from neither Tudor nor Gotham. SI’s action football winner was a game called Mag-Powr Football.

Like Electric Football, Mag-Powr Football offered two complete teams of 3-D players. And the players could move all over the field, just like Electric Football. The difference was, the players were controlled by a magnetic wand below the game. Sound familiar? Yes it does, and in fact Coleco’s Command Control patent cited the 1959 Mag-Powr patent.

Each human player had two magnetic wands, and could move their miniature football players around the field however they wished, as long as it followed the rules of real football.

The teams, like Tudor, were red and yellow, and the players did come in different football poses. There was even a quarterback figure, although it’s unclear how he actually threw the ball. Each player was mounted on top of a hefty magnet, which acted as the players “legs.” While the molding of the players was a bit crude, the field was a green felt material, which added a “touch of grass” realism.

Mag-Powr football and baseball were first available in 1959, with company expanding to hockey in 1960, and basketball in 1961. Although the line wasn’t carried by Sears and Montgomery Ward, Mag-Powr games can be found in other Christmas catalogs of the period. Unfortunately by 1965 the Mag-Powr line vanished from the toy world. But the magnetic wand concept lived on in the Remco Thimble City line.

As we’ve said here many times, Electric Football’s staying power in the toy world makes it one of the most amazing toys ever produced. It’s legacy as building block for NFL Properties will never be equaled.

Earl & Roddy