Right to the trash

[Chris Harris]

I've spent a lot of time painting teams; I'll post pictures of some at a later date. I'm afraid that when I pass everything will go straight to the trash.

My friends and family have zero interest in this hobby and as such will just throw it all away without much thought.

[nefgm.org]

Consider donating to The National ELECTRIC FOOTBALL Game Museum. One of the main reasons I created the museum is so that these collections do not just get tossed in the trash. https://nefgm.org/donate/ for more information. 

[Chris Harris]

I might do this.

I'm only in my 40's but I have an illness that may shorten my time.

I'm a third-generation painter, but that definitely ends with me.

CPU games have replaced EF in my household.

I remember my grandfather had the flat 2d figures he painted when he was young, till I lost them all.

I think the last to go in that group was the kicker that had a catapult to kick the ball.

He then moved on to the 3d when they were available.

He was always stripping and repainting teams.

[Chris Harris]

I would like to say that I'm glad Electric football is still around as it has given me a distraction from my situation.

Painting teams really calms my nerves and coming to theses forums is like talking with friends, even though I don't know anyone personally.

 

[nefgm.org]

We certainly hope it isn't anytime soon. Please post some pics of your teams and I will glady add them to the website. 

[Curt]

True that gentle-dudes. I share the same sentiment. May none of our times be cut short. I have found the same friends and family joy in these forums. The Electric Football world has gotten me through some tough times. There are many players I would love to trade e-mails with but I'm not sure how that would work. Regrettably, I am severely technology challenged and cannot produce pictures of my own on a no-text flip phone. I would have to get my wife to do all that for me. If illness takes me before the end of June, [or whenever it becomes impossible to play] then my hobby needs a place to go to. My nephew plays with me once in a while but like posted above, no one shares the same enthusiasm as mine. I've looked at "donate" before but 1, do not see an address? and 2, with 33 home and away teams plus an ultimate sized board, accessories etc., shipping all of it somewhere might be a problem. Guessing I just sparked some thoughts... I'll be 60 at the end of June which will be my 50th anniversary playing Electric Football. [health issue example, Arthritis prevents me from playing guitar now so I'll have to figure out how to ship my guitar to my brother who restores old guitars]. Instead of looking at myself as a medical mess, consider that I have been through 3 strokes, 2 major heart surgeries, and have a benign tumor behind my right ear that is 1.5 cm wide. I'm a walking, talking, Electric Football playing miracle and will continue to play as long as I'm able. Since the future is not guaranteed, I make no promises about anything except that I love this hobby and hope to one day pass it on to someone who will love it just as much. Those details will have to come much later, sorry. Hope this was not a waste of anyone's time. Blessings to all. 🙂 Curt

[Chris Harris]

I'll post pictures later this week or early next week. My previous painted teams are over 20 years old and not stored properly, so lots of broken and chipped painted figures.

Some I am trying to save, but my pride and joy are my new 1992 Dallas Cowboys that will be completed later this week.

Curt, my heart, thoughts and prayers go out to you.

[Chris Harris]

Here are 4

These are far from finished, need to clean up the leg strips and put the sleave stripes on.

Waiting on the names and numbers to come in the mail and finish the helmets If you look at the furthest figure in the first photo you can get an idea of what finished leg stripes look like.

Someone in the house picked them up before they dried and smeared the paint on some of them and need minor touching up.

 

 

[Chris Harris]

not sure why they are so blurry.

[Chris Harris]

I'm going to try this again.

These are far from finished, need to clean up the leg strips and put the sleave stripes on.

Waiting on the names and numbers to come in the mail and finish the helmets If you look at the furthest figures you can get an idea of what finished leg stripes look like.

So just need to touch up the bottoms and finish the tops and do the bases and this team is finished. They look like garbage now. but in 3 or 4 days they will look sweet.

 

[Chris Harris]

A few of my battered and chipped teams from over 20 years ago years ago

[Curt]

Thanks Chris. Honestly, I'm blessed. I guess God just isn't ready to take me home yet. That means more Electric Football...WAY KEWL! Here's a small tip on your Cowboys painting. I ordered the dark jersey set which has a blue star decal on its helmets which looks good. I apologize I cannot post pictures. I really have to learn how to do that. I hand painted my white jersey Cowboys. My stripes look good but I'm proud of the star too. I used a very fine detail brush. A blue line starts halfway up the helmet going near to the top but leaving enough room for the stripes. Then at the base of that line, a diagonal up to the left, a diagonal up to the right, then a diagonal down to the left and a diagonal down to the right completes a pretty good looking star. Just a thought. Blessings, Curt

[Chris Harris]

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

[Daryl Collins]

So strange this topic should pop up as I have been thinking about this same thing just today. I have a good collection that spans back to 1970 and I don’t have the slightest idea my family would want to keep any of it. It would mean a great deal to me if I knew it would be donated to someone else’s enjoyment. I’ll get the information from y’all where to have her get it to should things go south and I go North. Prayers to all of you, and thanks to y’all for this great community. 

[zak99b5]

Yup. I'm thinking all my EF stuff will just go in the trash when I go. Wife isn't wholly supportive, and (as with many husbands' hobbies) not quite all expenditures have been wholly disclosed. Same with my guitars and amps. 
 

But my 28 yo son plays in my league, so I'm hoping he'll grab it all when the time comes. 

[nefgm.org]

So here is a kind of a history regarding this subject and how The National ELECTRIC FOOTBALL Game Museum came into being. 

I myself have a very sizable collection of ELECTRIC FOOTBALL games and figures. Like most of you, I do not have any one in my family that is interested in the game and hobby enough to leave it to them and with the fear that it all would wound up in the trash one day.  I have a background in working with museums, fabricating and installing museum exhibits. My original thoughts were to donate my collection to a museum upon my demise. Either a toy museum or a children's museum. But when I retired over 3 years ago in 2019. I decided to start and build my own museum wholly dedicated to ELECTRIC FOOTBALL and preserving the history of the game and educating a future generation about the game and hobby. Rather than just be a private museum, I decided to set it up and organize it to be a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit museum so that people could make donations to the museum and so that their donations would be tax deductible. To date I have already received several game and team collections from various people. 

The museum is temporarily being housed in my home which while not officially open to the public, it is available for private viewings. The recent "Art of the Buzz" exhibit was my first public exhibition of the museum and has had a tremendous turnout, reinforcing my belief that having an actual ELECTRIC FOOTBALL Game Museum open to the public is a very realistic possibility and obtainable goal. 

So, like most museums, it will take the donations of others to be sustainable. That is why I often suggest to people making a donation to the museum.

So, what is the best way to convey to your family members the wish to donate your collections to the museum? By specifying it in a will or at least providing them with the information to do so. The contact information for the museum is:

The National ELECTRIC FOOTBALL Game Museum, 1413 Bern Drive, Spring Hill, TN 37174

Website: nefgm.org   Email: nefgm2019@gmail.com   Phone: (615) 587-0193

Chris LeMay, Founder and Curator

 

[Curt]

Thank you, thank you, and again Thank you! 🙂 I would have to rewrite my will and hope my wife could get things to you as well as many other details that would need to be worked out but here's what I'm thinking, now that I have your address. I love road trips. When I should reach the day I can no longer play, hopefully I will at least be able to orchestrate a road trip from the Dallas Texas area to you. I'm not in a hurry for Electric Football to end but like many, I want my hobby to continue to be enjoyed by other enthusiasts as I have loved it. A few examples of hobbies that ended without my being able to pass them on include having had a model railroad consisting of 7 engines, over 30 cars and a multiple train track layout on a 4' X 8' board that all got sold when it was no longer a possibility to continue with that. Now arthritis prevents me from playing guitar and so I'm in the process of working out details to ship it to my brother who restores old guitars. That is sad in that I played for 40 years, having done it all yet not really interested in learning to play blues slide. I read, wrote [about 4 dozen songs -no hits], taught, played, and recorded professionally but only locally so no famous connections anywhere [except my Uncle Jeff went to college with John Denver, yippee skip.] Chris if anyone can be made famous from electric football, my bet is on you sir. I just want to play as long as I can and the rest of future details will have to wait, sorry guys. 🙂