Everything changed in 1955, when an engineer named Bill Kobayashi was hired by Eagle Toys in Montreal. Bill revolutionized table hockey by designing a system of rods and slots, which enabled the men to move up and down the ice. This also allowed them to play with a puck instead of a marble.
Bill’s transformation of table hockey, combined with the “baby-boomers,” helped usher in a Golden Age, during which 12-14 million units were sold in Canada alone. Everybody had a board at home, and most everybody played — boys and girls alike.
The model on the left is the “Classic” Coleco 5380. Note the “art-deco” table.
Read about Bill Kobayashi here.
By the late sixties and early seventies, these kids who had played table hockey as a game now considered it a sport. An adult sport, sometimes related to drinking. Here’s a tournament filmed in New York around 1971. New Yorkers s will enjoy Stan Fischler, while Montrealers will be entertained by Nick Auf Der Mar picking the “three stars.”. Quite a cast of characters, and what a party!
Reporting also became more serious, reflecting the sport of table hockey as it came of age.
“Don’t Tilt the Rink”
by Stan Fischler, The Ottawa Journal, April 10, 1971
The Fastest Game Off Ice
by Chris Zelkovich, The Ottawa Journal, May 25, 1974
In the early 1970s, Munro produced a classic “hard core” board in the US, namely the Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull models. The gear-driven men and ball bearing puck made for a combination of power and finesse.
In the mid-70s, sponsored by Munro, the World Table Hockey Association held tournaments in most of the “original six” NHL cities. Lou and his brother Sid played their first-ever tournament in New York, in 1975.
These tournaments each attracted over 100 singles entries, and the competition was fierce. The Munro boards boast some great champions, like Ron Marsik of the 1970s, still competing today, and multi-board champion Kenny Dubois, who grew up playing Munro.
A 1975 Munro charity event in Montreal’s Alexis Nihon Plaza was covered by a young reporter named Rejean Tremblay (soon to become famous covering the Montreal Canadiens). Rejean arrived just in time to witness the fireworks, as Lou (above, right) showed up to challenge the WTHA’s local champ Mike Ettinger (above, left), who was easily dismissing all comers. This was Lou’s first media exposure, and it was stellar!
The Hockey Professionals — that is, Table Hockey
Des Professionels du Hockey . . . sur table (original French version)
by Rejean Tremblay, La Presse, June 14, 1975
By 1978 Munro was gone, and Coleco dominated the action. That’s when Lou emerged as the dominant force in Coleco. In this brief 1982 clip, filmed in Boucherville, Quebec, you can sense the charged atmosphere of competitive table hockey in the late Golden Age.
In the late Golden Age, Lou came into his own as a Classic champion …