75 years of Subbuteo

Santa brought me subbuteo when I was a young boy…in 1953. My memory is that there were two colours, red and blue. All the lads in our village used to come round at night to play. It was a great fun. Those were simpler days!
 
Think I’ve told this before on here. I broke one of my goalies and thieved one out of a box in John Menzies In Bishopbriggs. Walking home with my mum and I took it out my pocket. My mum asked where did you get that? I went bright red and she got it out me I blagged it. Walked me right back to Menzies and made me tell the women on the I’d took it and apologise. My dad went tonto leathered and subbuteo was taken off me for a bit.
 
my cousin had his wiped out on christmas day, we told my wee cousin 'dont open the door', carnage, on and off the pitch,

Absolutely shite game.
 
Used to love Subbuteo.

Got my first set in the late 80s, was a hand-me-down from my brothers mate.

I remember opening the box and started to take out the players, goals, pitch etc, and found his secret stash of Page 3 cuttings hidden underneath the pitch. Sam Fox, Linda Lusardi, and Maria Whittaker (the one with the side-on torpedo shaped knockers).

Happy days.
 
i Had been playing subbuteo for years since I picked up a club set in Newcastle when I was about 9 yo. Used to play with a mate who had the full stands and terracing experience set up in his loft.

I won a competition in the record in 1983 or thereabouts. Won a new floodlight set and got entered into the scottish leg of the UK championship where I got pumped 10 nil in about 3 minutes by some geeky wanker. I also got a free Man City team set so it wasn’t all bad.

I tried and failed to get the kids into it. FIFA is just too easy however. Their loss

Also went a few times to the Uddy “table soccer” club but it was full of rules wankers & no fun
 
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Loved it, a neighbour of mine when growing up had the full stadium , floodlights fans, scoreboard, camera crews etc was brilliant.
We even used to change the nets by using the orange netting that oranges/ tangerines came in as he was a Dundee Utd fan in the early 80’s :p
 
Got a case full of stuff in the attic from the 70’s. We used to play leagues and all sorts. Got quite serious though the actual rules about how you move the players etc were introduced by someone and we lost interest I think and we went outside with a real ball.

Wasn’t much cash in the 70’s but recall teams being 52p in Sutherland Toy Shop on Hillfoot Street Dennistoun.

One guy had his pitch perma stuck onto a big sheet of chipboard, not for him laying it out on the carpet. Posh bastard.

As everyone alludes to, happy days right enough. That and Peter Powell kites but I won’t digress.
 
weetam3106 said:
Got a case full of stuff in the attic from the 70’s. We used to play leagues and all sorts. Got quite serious though the actual rules about how you move the players etc were introduced by someone and we lost interest I think and we went outside with a real ball.

Wasn’t much cash in the 70’s but recall teams being 52p in Sutherland Toy Shop on Hillfoot Street Dennistoun.

One guy had his pitch perma stuck onto a big sheet of chipboard, not for him laying it out on the carpet. Posh bastard.

As everyone alludes to, happy days right enough. That and Peter Powell kites but I won’t digress.
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:p
 
Topps said:
Subbuteo always looked great when setup with stands and stuff and can see why its really collectable but i thought it was boring as hell to play.
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Out of interest, not criticism, how old are you?

I can see that it would be seen of as boring post computers and computer games. Like around mid 80's is when we first got a computer at home. An old IBM thing with the green on black character only monitor.

Even remember playing the first computer game, The Oregon Trail.
Mason Boyne: It was the only celtic thing i ever bought. It just wasn't the same them playing in red.
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same!
 
Topps said:
Subbuteo always looked great when setup with stands and stuff and can see why its really collectable but i thought it was boring as hell to play.
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Agree,I had it for years and thought it was shite.Boring as %^*&.
Only the rich kids had it set up on big tables,playing it on the floor,big creases,people trying to jump over it to get to the kitchen,dogs wrecking it.Maybe it was just my crappy set up.
 
I got invited to join a league. After the 1st round of games and the other players saw i was quite good they found some reason to make me play without a keeper.

Mikes mini men, the best bit of roy of the rovers
 
Artful Dodger said:
Think I’ve told this before on here. I broke one of my goalies and thieved one out of a box in John Menzies In Bishopbriggs. Walking home with my mum and I took it out my pocket. My mum asked where did you get that? I went bright red and she got it out me I blagged it. Walked me right back to Menzies and made me tell the women on the I’d took it and apologise. My dad went tonto leathered and subbuteo was taken off me for a bit.
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Fitting username :)
 
Tiny_Kilby_Loyal said:
Agree,I had it for years and thought it was shite.Boring as %^*&.
Only the rich kids had it set up on big tables,playing it on the floor,big creases,people trying to jump over it to get to the kitchen,dogs wrecking it.Maybe it was just my crappy set up.
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Playing on floor does bring back memories of creases and it being shite.

I guess it was far better on a table.

Seem to recall having floodlights but never actually had them illuminated.

Subbiteo immortalised in a half man half biscuit song


So he sent his doting mother
up the stairs with the stepladder
to get the Subbuteo
out of the loft
it had all the accessories
required for that big-match atmosphere
the crowd and the dugout
the floodlights too
and you'd always get palmed off
with a headless center-forward
and a goal-keeper with no arms
and a face like his
and he'd managed to get hold of
a Dukla-Prague Away Kit
'cause his uncle owned a sport shop
and he'd kept it to one side
and after only five minutes
you'd be down to ten men
as hed sent off your right back
for taking the base from under his left-winger
come to half-time, you were losing, four-nil
each and every goal, a hotly disputed penalty
so you smash up the floodlights
and the game was abandoned
and the dog would bark
and you'd be banned from his house
and your travelling army
of synthetic supporters
would be taken away from you
and thrown in the bin.
 
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buster60 said:
Santa brought me subbuteo when I was a young boy…in 1953. My memory is that there were two colours, red and blue. All the lads in our village used to come round at night to play. It was a great fun. Those were simpler days!
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you mean no cheating sectarian referees?
 
I remember seeing an interview with a Subbuteo expert who said it was originally going to be called Hobby but they couldn't do that because of copyright reasons. So it got renamed after the bird of prey by the same name which in Latin is 'Falco subbuteo'.
 
My start was with 'Newfooty' The players did not fall over as easily but also did not swerve as much when required. I had a Newfooty pitch which was great and lasted for many years. IN time Subbuteo took over the table football game and I had a mix of players from both types. Those were the days.
 
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muttley said:
I was brought up near Shettleston, and this wee shop on the main road, FF Browns, was like Treasure Island for Subbuteo nerds. You could buy all the latest items, yellow and blue footballs was a favourite, different designs of goalposts and nets, order any team in the world from the giant poster catalogue on the wall. Happy days ! :)
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That’s the shop I got my first set from (Club Edition) at Xmas 1974. Remember getting the England Admiral set from there which came in a Red,white & Blue box instead of the normal green. Bought umpteen teams from there. Still got a lot of my sons sets from the 90’s up in the loft including Rangers & Leeds set from the 92/93 Battle of Britain ties. Class!
 
Swinton Ger said:
That’s the shop I got my first set from (Club Edition) at Xmas 1974. Remember getting the England Admiral set from there which came in a Red,white & Blue box instead of the normal green. Bought umpteen teams from there. Still got a lot of my sons sets from the 90’s up in the loft including Rangers & Leeds set from the 92/93 Battle of Britain ties. Class!
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The guy that ran FF Browns sold everything Subbuteo, even the Rugby and Cricket editions, but the football edition must have made him a fortune. His shop was always mobbed every Saturday with kids throwing their money at him for the new must-have Subbuteo football items.
 
The game was shit in hindsight, but the idea of the floodlights and stands set up was brilliant.
 
I had my Subbuteo in the 1960s and had forgotten all about it. After my mother passed away, we were cleaning out her flat and I found she had saved some of it. I used to have several teams including, of course, Rangers and, one of my favourites, Anderlecht. The only teams I found at my Mum's were England and Norwich plus the pitch.

 
Got mine for Xmas 1969. Continental edition with blues (Rangers obviously ) and reds.
Absolutely loved the game and beat everyone i ever played (honestly).
But the best was just playing my own games. Rangers beating Ajax in 1972 to win the European Cup with a team that 'included' me on the left wing is still a clear memory.
Used to write the teams out for each game and kept them for years .Sadly they've got lost over the years.
Recently took the box i keep them in and there's,still about 10 complete teams but with a few breakages.
Couldnt ever part with them.
Happy memories before girls and drink got in the way!
 
Hillheadbear said:
I had my Subbuteo in the 1960s and had forgotten all about it. After my mother passed away, we were cleaning out her flat and I found she had saved some of it. I used to have several teams including, of course, Rangers and, one of my favourites, Anderlecht. The only teams I found at my Mum's were England and Norwich plus the pitch.

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The first gen wire keeper !
 
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