Christmas and Electric Football Memories

[Shabby J]

I know, I know, it's not electric football, it's miniature football, but for this post it's electric football.

Hopefully the Holidays bring back a ton of great electric football memories for all you guys who played as kids. Remember folding the pages of the Sears catalog and circling the boards or teams that you wanted Santa to bring? Remember not being able to sleep, because all you could think about was that brand new field under the tree?

I am 39 years old and played electric football with my dad as a kid, him and mom always managed to get me the board or teams I wanted. He worked at Ford Motor Company in Detroit and my mom was a homemaker, we were your average working middle class family.

He passed away when I was 12, when reminiscing with my mom recently she said when I was a kid he could not wait to buy me Lionel trains, slot cars, gas powered tether cars, mini bikes, etc... for Christmas, she said he was enjoying things with me that his family could never afford to buy him as a kid. I never thought about it that way, I can totally see it now.

Electric football was special as it was our favorite game to play together. To this day I think of him everytime the board is turned on for the first play of a game. Not a Christmas goes by that I don't think back about those fun but all to brief times spent with him.

This year I am starting a new tradition, I am going put my vintage 620 in it's original box under the tree on Christmas Eve so it will be there Christmas morning. In honor of my Father on Christmas day I am going to play a solitaire game, just like the old days, if I lose I will know the old man can still bring it on the metal gridiron.


I hope this will prompt you guys to share some of your memories about electric football and your childhood.

[Franny-j-boy]

Coach, I just wanted to say thank you sooo much for that memory because you really touched me.I'm 39 as well and although my dad died when I was in second grade I'll never forget 1977 and getting my superbowl game for x-mas and the excitement I had when I saw "Santa" had gotten me my favorite and most wanted toy. My mom had to think "I picked that one right" because I don't even remember or care what else I got. My older brother and I played that game every single night. I was a Cowboy fan starting out so I would practice soo hard and always play a tough game against my brother Pat. I would always make sure the board was clean and my players would always get a pep talk. We had such a great neighborhood back then in Cincinnati with a ton of older kids to play with. This game was soo huge a least six other people got that game that year, and about four others already had it. We got a league going with schedules,standings,and stats that made it too much fun. Everyone put in five dollars and I kept all the money in an envelope. Those were the days as I have only now been able to reach my childhood through all of you, and especially my league in Mid Ohio. Thanks to all of you for making (every time I come on here) feel like Christmas. It's been a long long time since my "little boy" has been out. I've been so caught up into being a grown up that I forgot we all have that "boy" in us that just wants to play. God bless and please keep this hobby alive. Thanks again Coach Shabby for this post.
Frank Jacobs

[Franny-j-boy]

Here are a few pics I took of my board now and although I recently put the Oilers stickers in the endzones I really took great care of my board and I even remember when I wrote in the Super Bowl scores for several years after.This is one of my true loves. Thank God for this hobby and all of you.

[artlax]

Last year Santa brought my son Nick his first EF game. Nick had written to Santa for the game and he came through. It was the first time since I was about 20 or so that I had seen one. Of course it initially brought back some great memories of playing in a league with my eighborhood buddies. In the year since last Christmas Nick and I have completed on league season of our own, put together a website to share our games with all who are interested, made many new friends through the game and I have joined a league. We are building memories that I did not have a chance to do with my dad. We do plenty of other things together - but it is simply amazing what this game can do!

[canadatabletopgames]

WOW!!!

That's remind me in X-mas on 1979, i receive from Santa my two best gifts that i ever received. First it was a Coleco NHL stanley cup championship with all the 17 NHL teams available at that time and minutes later, i receive my Coleco CFL total control electric football game and i was playing with my father every day about 3-4 hours a day during the holidays. Gheez that was good memories.

Joyeuses fêtes a tous
Happy Holidays to each and every one of you on this MF community and to your family

By the way, if you drink, please don't drive

Benster from north of the border
founder of Flickfootball (coming at the end of 2008)

[Orleanian In Exile]

Christmas was when I'd gotten my Tudor 618 board under the tree, with the Rams and Packers as the packaged teams. We'd just settled into the house on Gaines St. and it was a year or maybe two that I was first introduced to electric football. One of my friends down the street had his set with the Falcons and another team I can't recall now after 30+ years. That set was in my closet at the old house when it went under five feet of water in the New Orleans flood.

I've now got two game sets I won off e-Bay. But I'd trade them both in a flash if I could have that old 618 back.

[styx]

Originally Posted by Franny-j-boy

Coach, I just wanted to say thank you sooo much for that memory because you really touched me.I'm 39 as well and although my dad died when I was in second grade I'll never forget 1977 and getting my superbowl game for x-mas and the excitement I had when I saw "Santa" had gotten me my favorite and most wanted toy. My mom had to think "I picked that one right" because I don't even remember or care what else I got. My older brother and I played that game every single night. I was a Cowboy fan starting out so I would practice soo hard and always play a tough game against my brother Pat. I would always make sure the board was clean and my players would always get a pep talk. We had such a great neighborhood back then in Cincinnati with a ton of older kids to play with. This game was soo huge a least six other people got that game that year, and about four others already had it. We got a league going with schedules,standings,and stats that made it too much fun. Everyone put in five dollars and I kept all the money in an envelope. Those were the days as I have only now been able to reach my childhood through all of you, and especially my league in Mid Ohio. Thanks to all of you for making (every time I come on here) feel like Christmas. It's been a long long time since my "little boy" has been out. I've been so caught up into being a grown up that I forgot we all have that "boy" in us that just wants to play. God bless and please keep this hobby alive. Thanks again Coach Shabby for this post.
Frank Jacobs

hi frank,i remember getting my first superbowl game,i had it until i was old enough to enter the u.s air force,when i was 19,after a long career mostly abroad,i couldnt wait to play it again,but the field did not survive without me,so i bought a superbowl game between the rams an titans,i will be saving it for my grandson, he;s only 2 and already loves to play.

[Franny-j-boy]

I just went back and read this post I wrote a few years ago and man I am sooo blessed to have this hobby still alive, and with a great passion in my life. Thanks to all of you for feeling the way i do about this electric football/miniature football hobby we love. Man, I love playing in Mid-Ohio.

[NEW CASTLE HiTMEN]

I remember it well. I got the same game Frank did. The Cowboys -vs Broncos. It was the year my grandma died and three months before we moved in with my grandfather. My mother told me santa may not come to our house this year because she had to quite work and take care of our grandmother. I was hardly affected because we are a tight knit family. You can imagine the surprise when I awoke Christmas morning. Man, I loved that game. I played with it so much, that the switch broke and my grandfather had to fix it twice. He soldered the wires going into the switch. The cord became three feet shorter becaue of it. My older brother didn't care for the game, so I spent hour after hour playing solitaire. I can remember Craig Morton returning a kickoff for a TD in a game I played with my uncle that very day. AWSOME. JUST AWSOME. Then my nephew received a game for Christmas a few years back (Rams vs Titans) and I fell in love all over again. Thank you one and all for keeping this game/hobby alive. And Frank, THANKS FOR SHOWING THAT PICTURE.

[mark robin]

i got 3 different sets in a 4 year period, i never ask for much, but my parents saw how much time i spent, and how i took care of my EF stuff everyday. my 3 sets were the championship set(ive since replaced that one), the haiti teams, Cowboys(bs)vs Broncos(ws), then the Rams Steelers haiti Superbowl. ive since added just about every set ever made, i think im missinf 2 620 size boards and 2 500 size boards to have every one ever made. just think, my hobby was started by buying HKBS teams at a garage sell for .25 cents apeice back in '74.