Table (or tabletop) hockey games have been part of the Canadian
scene since the days of the Great Depression. While these games can be
divided into several categories ( including board games, magnetic
hockey, air hockey, bumper hockey and knock hockey), the image that
usually comes to mind when one thinks of table top hockey is that of a
miniature ice rink with players mounted on small spikes spinning and
moving with the twist of their steel rods.
The earliest type
of these mechanical hockey games was built by Donald H. Munro, Sr.
in his Toronto home in 1932-33. Made of wood and scrap metal found in
his neighborhood, Munro built his first game as a Christmas present for
his children at a time when he could not afford to buy gifts. Soon
after, Munro built a handful of these games on consignment for the
Baton's department store in Toronto. They turned out to be an instant
success.
These early games, referred to as "the wooden game"
by collectors, were produced every year until 1955. During this period
of 22 years, many improvements were made in the playing quality and
appearance. Despite these many improvements, the early wooden hockey
games bore only a passing resemblance to the on-ice game. Players, for
example, were simply wooden pegs with wire loops that moved back and
forth like pinball flippers. Still, these games were exceedingly
popular. One of the main reasons for this popularity was the design of
the hump or high area in the center of the playing surface. This
innovation allowed the puck (actually a metal ball) to roll to either
end of the game and made it possible for both players to be actively
involved at the same time (one on offense and one on defense). Until
this time, bagatelle games (and even modem day pinball games) all were
played on a single slope enabling only one player at a time to
participate. Due to their size (about 14 by 36 inches), the early Munro
wooden game were sold mainly in department stores and through mail order
catalogs, though occasionally they would be earned in sporting goods and
hardware stores. The games sold for between four and five dollars during
the 1930s. The first recorded price was listed in the 1939-40 Eaton's
Fall & Winter Catalogue where the Munro Standard Model was
advertised for $4.95. The number of games produced in these early days
would range from a few hundred to a few thousand. In the 1940s, the
Munro Standard Model was expanded to include a deluxe version where the
ball would roll out of the net after a goal and into a small cup mounted
at each end of the game. A Club Model, with a heavier wooden frame and
stronger wire parts, was introduced for the many Boys Clubs that existed
in Canada at this time. In 1945-46, Munro's partner, Stewart Molson
Robertson, manufactured games in Rochester, New York under Munro's
American patent, but despite the popularity of the games in Canada, the
venture proved unsuccessful in the United States. Sales in Canada were
increasing to several thousand games per year, and by 1954, the last
full year in which these wooden games were made, prices were $8.95 for
the Standard Game, $10.95 for the Deluxe and $ 14.95 for the Club. The
Deluxe was by far the most popular model. During the era of the wooden
game, three different mechanical hockey games surfaced. The first was
built by Gotham Pressed Metal Products of The Bronx, NEw York, who
displayed their version of "Ice Hockey" in their 1937 catalog.
Like the Munro game, Gotham's playing surface featured a hump in the
center to keep the puck (again a metal ball) moving from side to side.
However, the Gotham game featured only one player at either end who both
guarded the goal and pivoted in a complete circle to shoot the puck into
the other end. A second competitor to Munro was introduced by the
Reliable Toy Company of Toronto in 1953. Patterned after the Munro Game,
the "Foster Hewitt Hockey Game" was made of plastic and came
equipped with figures shaped like miniature hockey players molded out of
die-cast metal. The game was comparatively small (approximately) 12"
x 24") and was sold for only a few years before being replaced by
the more modem-style games. The first of these modem-style games (and
the challenger that finally ended Munro's wooden era) was introduced by
the Eagle Toy Company of Montreal in 1954. Eagle's National Hockey Game
was endorsed by the Montreal Canadiens and was an immediate success for
several reasons. It was the first Canadian game to feature players
printed in color on flat tin cutouts shaped like real hockey players who
stood on a surface that resembled ice. Eagle's game was decorated with
team pennants from the NHL and was the first Canadian game to feature
metal rods that allowed its players to pivot a complete 360 degrees. The
Eagle game measured 16" x 36" and sold for $10.95. Soon, both
Munro and Eagle were issuing similar games that not only had rods to
allow the players to spin but also had slots that let them slide up and
down the ice surface. The innovation that led to metal rods and slots
had actually been introduced in Sweden during the 1930s. Aristospel A.B.
of Stockholm manufactured the game, which was sold to several European
countries. A Canadian patent was issued in 1941, but although the design
of the Swedish game was unique at the time, it was a difficult and
costly game to manufacture.
Not until 1954 would a Canadian
company (Cresta Limited of Toronto) introduce and manufacture the
Swedish-style game. Also in 1954, K & B Toys of Burlington, Ontario
copied the Cresta game and issued their own version under the name "3
Star Hockey." K & B was only in business until 1957, while
Cresta lasted until 1958. Neither proved able to compete with Eagle and
Munro, who had both unveiled their own rod-and-slot hockey games at the
Montreal Toy Show in January of 1956. From that point on, Munro and
Eagle produced nearly all of the hockey games sold in Canada and the
United States.
Over the years, Munro and Eagle were the
undisputed leaders in designing and creating models that year after year
became more realistic in their appearance. The games also played better
through such innovations as goal lights, period timers, puck droppers,
and "glass" above the boards. Three-dimensional players were
first introduced by Munro back in 964, and while both Munro and Eagle
experiment with the design of their players, the flat tin men remained
the most popular. In 1971, safety concerns forced a switch to plastic
men with self-adhesive team labels that customers applied themselves.
Eagle's games had the official endorsement of the NHL and could
replicate exactly the uniforms of its teams.
Munro relied on
the endorsement of top stars like Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull for their
games and could only approximate the NHL uniforms. The televising of NHL
games during the 1950s and the league's expansion in 1967 greatly
enlarged the North American market for table top hockey games. Whereas
thousands of games had been sold previously, the numbers were now
beginning to reach the hundreds of thousands and were climbing every
year. To meet the rising demand, both Munro Games and Eagle Toys were
sold to U.S. companies in September of 1968-Munro to Servotronics and
Eagle to Coleco. Their dominance of the Canadian and American markets
would continue-with games growing larger (24" x 34") and
prices ranging up to 30 and 40 dollars during the 1970s-until the advent
of video games relegated table hockey to a "second choice" toy
item.
By the late 1980s, a resurgence of table hockey occurred
with lrwin Toys acquiring Coleco's tooling and companies like Stiga (a
Swedish firm that had long been selling their games in Europe),
Playtoy/Rernco, Radio Shack, and Kevin Sports developing new games in
North America. A Wayne Gretzky-endorsed game was introduced by Kevin
Sports in 1990, selling for $120. Bubble top hockey games of the type
found in bars, arenas, and other venues have also become very popular.
In recent years, a deluxe table hockey game in Greenwich, New
York ("TableHockey" by Rick Benej) retail for about $700 U.S.
the rebirth of table top hockey games has made the collecting of these
games (both old and new) a popular hobby. For both the serious and
casual collector, these games often bring back many vivid childhood
memories from finding a hockey game under the tree at Christmas to
picking out favorite teams, playing "seasons" or tournaments
for the miniature replica Stanley Cup, or simply arguing about whether
or not the puck went in.
Many parents today watch their sons
and daughters glued to a monitor while they play video or computer games
and feel sad to see their children miss out of the marvelous and dynamic
Table hockey collectors often search for a specific childhood game or
games which did not survive their growth into adulthood. "My mother
threw it out," is the popular refrain. Many serious collectors
strive to obtain all the significant landmark games from years gone by.
Collecting can also include trying to find lost pieces from old games,
such as players or entire teams, missing nets, trophies, pucks, rods,
springs, overhead gondolas, or original boxes. Often, these game pieces
are very specific to the manufacturer. For example, the original Eagle
nets in 1954 were made of green mesh, but by 1957 they were all tin to
be followed by white plastic nets in 1959. Munro games at one point
featured three different pucks: a standard wooden puck, a magnetic puck
(for better control with tin players) and a puck with a steel ball
bearing in the middle.
The range of players from these old
games can be mind-boggling, with flat tin players, tin players with
separate plastic and/or metal sticks, 3-D tin players, 3-D plastic
players, flat plastic players, and more. Players in specific uniforms
have also become highly collectible, with the 1967 Oakland Seals and the
purple-clad Los Angeles Kings becoming much sought-after. With Eagle
Toys having held exclusive rights to produce NHL uniforms, players from
their games have been most in demand. Because it was the last game to
cany the NHL's endorsement, team sets from the Wyane Gretzky game have
also become highly collectible (particularly for relocated teams such as
Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques, Minnesota North Stars and Hartford
Whalers). "The value of an old hockey game is directly influenced
by four key factors: initial popularity of the game, rarity,
condition/completeness, and the importance of the game in the evolution
of table top hockey.
Games in their original box with all
their original parts can sell for upwards of $100. Many collectors with
only purchase games in the best condition because they feel that repairs
compromise authenticity. Others value the rarity of the game or its
historical significance more so than the shape they find it in. However,
to any collector who is also a player, the real thrill is to play the
game again and recapture the past pleasures and glories of youth.
For
these "grown up kids," there are a number of tournaments
available every year, including the Johnny GoodGuy Tournament in
Brampton, Ontario, the Ontario Table Hockey Championships in Hamilton,
and the Upper Canada Cup in Toronto. The Toronto-area also features at
least two leagues: the Metro Toronto Table Hockey League in Thomhill and
the National Tabletop Association in Brampton. Other Canadian
tournaments include the Windsor Cup Classic in Windsor, Ontario and the
Canadian Open Championship in Hull, Quebec. There is also the U.S.
Nationals in Warwick, Illinois and the Hubbard Hall Face Off Tournament
in Greenwich, New York. In Sweden, an annual tournament is played on the
Stiga game and a World Championship is played every second year with
players from as many as 20 different countries (including Canada and the
United States) competing for world supremacy.
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