Season 31 starts today

[Terry43]

Hi. My 31st Season started today, June 1st.

I'm calling this season the Iron Horse #6 Season because this is the 6th time I've included the Iron Horse in my Double Elimination tournament. The Iron Horse are special because the bases are 1949 steel bases. The plastic figures were Tudor Moon Sharks.

The 1949 bases were made with two mud flap prongs so originally the only tweaking was pressing  the prongs forward or backwards. The 1949 game came with instructions on how to do this. To the best of my knowledge — and the current Tudor web page aside — these are the only two times Tudor or Miggle suggested in their booklets that the bases might need tweaking. The National Electric Football Game Museum probably has better information on this.

Intuition informed me that steel bases could do better. First, I reasoned the bases could run faster. I reduced friction by sanding a curve into the mud flap prongs (or reeds as the instructions say) creating four distinct points of contact. Each point of contact can be slightly 🤏 bent to change direction.

Then, on some players — like offensive linemen — I turned the base around so the flat back side of the base becomes the flat front side. This enables linemen to hold their blocks longer. #88 shows the original orientation of the base and #69 shows the base turned around. #55 shows an original orientation where I sanded the front of the base flat. This didn't help. 🙁

1949 steel bases weight in at around 3.57 grams. Adding a plastic figure adds another 1.88 grams, for an average total weight of 5.45 grams. Tudor TTC bases with figures average about 3.10 grams. In my 16th season this added weight enabled the Iron Horse to push their way into the Fruit Bowl where they lost to the much faster Blue Jays. During the ensuing offseason I experimented with adding weight to all my teams. As the saying goes, the rest is history.

Over five seasons the Iron Horse have compiled a win/loss record of 7 — 6 and have a permanent place in my heart. I would never part with my 1949 Iron Horse.

Enjoy the Journey. Terry 43 ⚡🏈♾️

[Greg F]

How long does a season usually take you to complete?

[Terry43]

15 minutes ago, Greg F said:

How long does a season usually take you to complete?

Hi. I play one game a week. Season 30 took 14 weeks and I anticipate Season 31 will take 13 or 14 weeks, but summer could add a couple weeks.

Currently the dates don't line up because work / moving / Tudor going out of business / vacations have caused me to miss whole years of playing. 1983 is my starting date because that's the year my wife bought me an EF game for Christmas. In 1976 I tossed in the garbage my original Wards game when I went to college and I was too mature to play EF. I feel much younger now. 😃

Enjoy the Journey T43 ⚡🏈♾️

[nefgm.org]

I think that is the first time I have seen that particular piece of paper. Here are some examples form other rules books.

Below is what is stated in the 1949 rule book. 

This is from a 1959 rule book.

1962 when the first bases with legs were made. 

1965/66 Rule book

1978 Rule Book in regard to TTC Bases

Here is the first known instance of "boiling" from the 1955 Gotham instructional book. 

[Terry43]

"Adjusted at the factory," is just priceless. 🤣

I knew you would know. Thank you for taking time to scan all those Instruction Manuals. It's like a dissertation! 🎓 Thank you!

Enjoy the Journey T43 ⚡🏈♾️

[Daryl Collins]

Totally fascinating! All the information in this thread is worth the price of admission!. 

[Daryl Collins]

Speaking of bases, I can remember back in the Miggle days, they came out with bases that we’re supposed to be great “Straight out of the box”. They were not. I don’t think there ever will be bases that don’t need a modicum of tweaking. It’s just part of the process, and darn near an art form. Just like painting, there are some coaches who are just masters of the craft!