The NEFGM Library

[nefgm.org]

Much of the books by Earl Shores and Roddy Garcia (The Unforgettable Buzz, Full Color Electric Football, and The Electric Football Wishbook) cover in detail the first 40 years (1947 - 1989) of the history of electric football and that is mostly from the manufacturing and marketing of the game. 

But there is another history of the game and hobby that can be found in these great resources. All of which can be found in The NEFGM Library. 

[Terry43]

This service is so very useful and appreciated.

I think Plugged In is still being published, but the Tweak, Cracking' Plastic, and Solitaire Illustrated are complete runs. Do you think this is the result of Social Media (i.e. Facebook, Tudor Forum) filling the need, or is the demographic (people who play electric football) too small to support traditional publications?

If this is a Social Media issue then it seems the next step in historical preservation is to curate Facebook's, Tudor Forum's, etc. content. Even an index would be useful.

I don't think the demographic is too small. I went to the Tournament of Champions web page and they have ~270 registered players. I believe there's a registration fee so these are players who feel invested — at least in the beginning. Of those 270 names, only 68 have accrued any points in 2022-2023, so my suspicion is that 68 is probably a more realistic number. When you look at attendance numbers for the tournaments:   

Twister	Brawl	Rumble	Clash	Blast	Con.16

Attendance

14

16

22

28

16

it appears the active tournament coaches are even a smaller number.

I don't have access to Tudor's database — but based on TOC numbers — I'd say the publication Solitaire Illustrated should have a market of over 200 subscribers.

Unless... actually playing the game, and painting the figures, and tweaking the bases, is the core of the hobby and 99% of the participants have that covered. I know that's true for me.  So, perhaps, the Musuem's database is all that's really necessary.

Once again, thank you.  T43 ⚡🏈♾️