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.