Electric football had become quite crowded by 1972. Not only were long-time players Tudor and Gotham still in the game, they had recently been joined by “rookies” Coleco and Munro. Both of these new companies charged onto the field like … Continue reading
Electric football was definitely “all in the family” as Roddy and his brother Roald played the “Garcia Bowl” on Thanksgiving Day. Roddy had his beloved Vikings, Roald his Giants. It was a “stock game” played on a 1969 NFL … Continue reading
Electric Football — Yes, we did this electric football matchup already. Unfortunately, of the photos done for this week, this ended up being the best game (nobody really wanted to see the Eagles-Cowboys). The away 49ers have always been one … Continue reading
Electric football once had a relationship with a professional football league that was not the NFL. That league still exists, and in fact, played its championship game this past Sunday night. Not only was this game the pinnacle of the … Continue reading
This is a good matchup only in terms of vintage electric football teams. There is very little appealing or attractive about the real game for the casual fan. Maybe some glitter from RG3, but neither of these teams are very … Continue reading
This is the 1972 version of the Gotham electric football game we featured in the last post. Gotham has now turned this model into a large game (38″ x 21″), and renumbered it. It’s now the NFLPA G-1506. It’s basically … Continue reading
Electric football games were a Thanksgiving Day advertising staple in the 1960’s. The above ad was run by the Lazarus Department store chain ran in the Mansfield News Journal on November 27, 1969. It was a full page ad that … Continue reading
When Tudor began making NFL electric football games, the Rams and 49ers were one of first pairings sold. Although they weren’t part of the original group of NFL games Tudor released in 1967, the Rams-49ers were paired together the very … Continue reading
How popular was electric football in 1954? If you were Christmas shopping and walked into a toy store, you would have seen something like this…. Earl & Roddy
This may be the last electric football post that goes up for a while. We’re in the Bull-eye for Hurricane Sandy, and we already live in an area that has a problem with power outages. We’re being warned of massive … Continue reading
Tudor and Gotham both began selling electric football games in Canada in the mid-1950’s. There was a little bit of profit to be made there, but demand for electric football in Canada wasn’t really that strong. Neither Tudor nor Gotham … Continue reading
One of my favorite things to discover in an old electric football game – besides large teams – is a sheet of Tudor’s original press-on numbers. Most prized, of course, is an unused sheet. A sheet that’s cut but still … Continue reading
Back in early September I picked the Eagles and the Lions as the matchup for Week 6. This was done partially from a “home” perspective, but also because I still have my originals of these teams, even down to the … Continue reading
As we mentioned in our previous installment of “Before Electric Football,” having football players “run” on a game board was something toy makers and inventors had dreamed about long before Norman Sas came to Tudor. During our research for The … Continue reading
Many thanks to Ray Fananra for pointing out a vintage electric football matchup that we missed this week. It was also special for Ray because in 1969 he got a NFL No. 620 with the Colts-Packers, not the Browns-Giants (he … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
This was an easy pick for an electric football preview. First off, I’m an Eagles fan. And from there…this will be the 161st time these two teams have met, a rivalry that began back in 1933. Sports Illustrated has ranked … Continue reading
Most electric football aficionados know that Norman Sas invented the game, and that Lee Payne took the design of electric football to levels of realism that were only once dreamed of. But there was another person who played the designer … Continue reading
When people ask about the rarest electric football game, I have no trouble answering. It was the first electric football I ever owned, the Pressman Vibro-Power Football game. The game was a Christmas present in 1963 when I was just … Continue reading
When Coleco jumped into electric football in 1970, it produced some very striking games. The company had done its homework well. Coleco’s games were solidly built and featured inviting graphics, on the field and off. The large 3-D grandstands were … Continue reading