Hobbies we have left by the wayside......

[thechenman]

Here's a hobby that will be a blast from the past for most guys. Not sure if this hobby made it overseas or not. Funny thing is I still play this hobby from my childhood. There are still leagues all around the country, as well as tournaments and even conventions. My what we guys will dream up as a way to drink & smoke cigars . I have included a few pics, hopefully their not to big, as far as hobbies that have fallen by the way side, most of those are same as you have already listed.

I have posted the Redskins team & field field I played with this past season, and I have posted the 1986 Browns team I will be playing with this coming season:

I've never seen this game before. Looks interesting. What is it called and when was it originally released?

[SandmanTR]

Here's a hobby that will be a blast from the past for most guys. Not sure if this hobby made it overseas or not. Funny thing is I still play this hobby from my childhood. There are still leagues all around the country, as well as tournaments and even conventions. My what we guys will dream up as a way to drink & smoke cigars . I have included a few pics, hopefully their not to big, as far as hobbies that have fallen by the way side, most of those are same as you have already listed.

I have posted the Redskins team & field field I played with this past season, and I have posted the 1986 Browns team I will be playing with this coming season:

I remember it very well. So much so that I recently purchased this game for the iPad. Very addicting!!

http://www.chillingo.com/sku.htm?sid=320

Plus a little bit of history on the game itself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_football

[cigcars]

*Used to do (as close as I can determine!) 2 mile run everyday with my dog. He was my running, biking partner. Dog passed away at age 11yrs. No longer had much drive to engage in such anymore.

[anacostiakat]

Here's a hobby that will be a blast from the past for most guys. Not sure if this hobby made it overseas or not. Funny thing is I still play this hobby from my childhood. There are still leagues all around the country, as well as tournaments and even conventions. My what we guys will dream up as a way to drink & smoke cigars . I have included a few pics, hopefully their not to big, as far as hobbies that have fallen by the way side, most of those are same as you have already listed.

I have posted the Redskins team & field field I played with this past season, and I have posted the 1986 Browns team I will be playing with this coming season:

Wow! I wish I had the sets I had as a kid. Many hours playing!

Great to see the Redskins too!

Thanks!

[Habanakane21]

After having 2 ACL repairs my sporting days are now over.

Use to play basketball, in between off seasons of football.

Ukulele playing down to a minimum

Guitar playing, obsolete now

Golf, long but gone

Paint Ball gun, collecting dust

over 200,000 sports card dating back to 1970-2001 in boxes

Star Wars collectibles stored and waiting for grandkids.

[jwm8592]

Thx for the input Sandman. Yeah, this game is the old Electric Football. A mfg. company named Tudor, which was located in New York city was the company that really put Electric Football on the map. Basically the players are made of plastic, and each figure has a base that he sits on. Under the base there are tiny plastic brushes if you will that cause the player to vibrate down the filed once the board is turned on. Back in my youth it was just alot of players running in circles, going out of bounds, etc.. But in today's game all teams have tweaked bases, (you the coach tweak them) which makes them run about any direction you choose. Passing is a must as well. If you love football, you would like this hobby. Board games and players can be had on ebay, through the MFCA trading forum, or Miggle's website. Tudor was eventually bought out by Miggle Toys. Miggle operates even today, still churning out board games and figures. One big difference is that Miggle lost the NFL license that Tudor had garnered and Miggle had for many years. So they are no longer able to produce & sell NFL teams, but that doesn't stop the hobbyist from buying the figures and painting them any team they like. There is also an association that sprung up a few years ago called the MFCA, or Miniature Football Coaches Association, (about 300 members from all across the U.S.) the website can be accessed by going to miniaturefootball.org, or most times by entering mfca into your browser. The site is pretty cool, and you can see some of the work done by the hobbyists, basically taking a stock plastic figure and adding epoxy sculpt, etc.. and actually sculpting/changing the design of the figure. There are also some links to some you tube videos showing some games, plays, etc.... Enjoy!

Below is some additional information regarding Electric Football beginnings:

History of Tudor Games - Written by Earl Shores

Electric Football's ancestry can be traced back to 1929, when Elmer Sas incorporated Tudor Metal Products in New York City. The company survived the Depression through the popularity of its Budget Bank, which Elmer created. In the late 40's, Elmer's son Norman became president of Tudor, and invented the toy we all know and love - - Electric Football.

A mid-50's Tudor #500 model.

Norman based the game on a vibrating car race game that Tudor already made. Those early No. 500 Electric Football models look crude to the modern eye - - but, just for a second, imagine being a child on Christmas morning in 1949. No spinners, no dice, no cards to flip over. . . just turn on the game and watch your players run - - all by themselves!

Electric Football was an immediate hit, captivating boys' imaginations like few toys ever had. Tudor did so well with the game that by the mid-50's another company, Gotham Pressed Steel, sauntered up to the scrimmage line. Over the coming years, some of Electric Football's greatest innovations would come out of the competition between the two companies.

Tudor produced the first all-plastic 3-D men in 1958, including a running back that carried the ball in his arm. In the early 60's, Gotham became an NFL licensee and produced not only the first NFL endorsed Electric Football game, but also the first "big game." Finishing off this G-1500 model was a colorful metal grandstand that nearly surrounded the field.

The 1962 Tudor #600 model, complete with Payne's new "sculpt-action" players.

About the same time, industrial designer Lee Payne was showing Norman Sas a set of player prototypes whose realism would change Electric Football forever. Tudor introduced these players on its first large game, the 1962 #600 model. Besides figures in four different "sculp-action" poses, the game also had a metal grandstand with a lithographed crowd scene photo. This addition was another Payne innovation.

By 1966, the grandstands on both Tudor and Gotham big games reached beautifully realistic, yet somewhat ridiculous, proportions. But Tudor had more than grandstands on its mind. Lee had perfected his third generation of players. They were finely detailed, down to thigh pads and face masks. Norman then approached the NFL, showing off the fine detail the company could add to the figures. Tudor could paint them like any team in the NFL!

Soon after the Packers beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl I, Tudor unveiled its new line of NFL games and pre-painted NFL players. Now every kid could play Electric Football with his or her favorite team. As the NFL's popularity exploded over the next decade, so did the popularity of Electric Football. At one point in the 70's, four different companies were making games. Of course, with the NFL license, Tudor always had the most popular models.

With the advent of video games, hands-on toys like Electric Football struggled to remain part of the 80's & 90's fast-forward kid culture. Fortunately, Michael Landsman of Miggle Toys recognized that many people still have a place in their hearts (and under their tree) for Electric Football. So, as the 21st Century unfolds, the Tudor story continues to be written.

A 1967 Tudor NFL #613 model. This game was sold exclusively through Sears, and featured the Bears and the Cardinals.

This "History of Tudor Games" and the photos on this page are all courtesy of Earl Shores.

Special Post-Note: Sadly, Lee Payne passed away in May 2003 at the age of 69. From the painted players, to the field markings, to the goalposts, Payne's vision of realism is part of every Electric Football game made today. While a faculty member at Georgia Tech, he would sometimes show his industrial design classes slides of Electric Football - - and get standing ovations. He was truly one of the most important figures in Electric Football history. He will be missed.

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[thechenman]

Very cool. Thanks for the info.

[OZCUBAN]

Having time to put proper in depth posts on F.O.H...

[Gumball]

Cycling.. Old school MTB... Alex Singer...

http://concoursdemachines.blogspot.com/

Tea, especially Pu Erh (great match with cigars !)...

http://puerhyixing.blogspot.com/

B&W photo (used argentic with Canon T90 and Leica M7 but it is a pain in the ass to use...)

http://photo.net/photodb/member-photos?user_id=1008197

And luxury leather shoes... My first passion and now my job !

[badaboom]

ummm we should all trade hobbies. I might enjoy archery... haha

Model railroad - had a whole town set up on a sheet of plywood. Stupid expensive.

Matchbox-sized Porsches. Have 1400+ unique ones collected since I was a kid, in plexi cases that cover two walls in my home office

Full size '89 Porsche 928S4. LOVE it, but scared to enjoy it cuz its expensive to fix. I drive it once a month just to keep fresh gas in it

Drums - gathering dust

Comic books - gathering dust. Mostly early Image stuff

Fancy pants fountain pens - gathering dust

Fancy pants watches - all but one gathering dust. Wear a Glycine F104 daily. Love it most, even tho its my cheapest

Tools - saws and compressors and wrenches and and and - gathering dust

Metal detector - visions of strolling Florida beaches at dawn...... Never used even once. I hate the beach (?!)

Sexy young women - I was once their hobby, but now I am discarded and gathering dust