HISTORY OF SUBBUTEO (Suh-BOO-tee-oh) TABLE SOCCER
The game of Subbuteo originated in postwar England in the late 1940's. Invented by Peter Adolph, the game saw a peak in the 1970's, but has seen a large resurgence as of late with many players rediscovering a game from their youth. Subbuteo (the brand name of the table soccer game) has seen many changes from its original incarnation to today's game. The first sets came with cardboard figures on half-circle plastic bases, plastic goals, and a piece of chalk to draw out lines on an army surplus blanket (not included). Eventually, in the early 1960's, the playing figure was a mass produced three dimensional figure. The late 1970's saw the addition of non-playing accessories like grandstand seating, fence surround and a working scoreboard. The early 1980's saw the playing figure and the plastic base undergo changes. No longer was the figure lifeless; he now was a more lifelike looking player that was set in a lightweight base. In 1996, Hasbro bought production rights. Hasbro reduced the number of teams produced, cut out the accessories, but introduced a new one piece base that was an improvement over the lightweight base of the 80's. Hasbro ceased production of Subbuteo products in 1999. By 2000, Subbuteo players and bases were not being produced by one company, but were being produced by numerous companies around the world. Now, today's players use high quality playing surfaces, metal goals, highly detailed molded figures, and precision machined bases that glide across the entire field!