{"id":2054,"date":"2023-09-11T14:00:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.csocso.eu\/?p=2054"},"modified":"2023-09-13T15:12:28","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T13:12:28","slug":"a-csocso-eredete-es-kialakulasa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.csocso.eu\/en\/a-csocso-eredete-es-kialakulasa\/","title":{"rendered":"The origin and evolution of foosball"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Several people have asked me what information I have about the origin of foosball. It immediately occurred to me that I should split this question in two. for<\/strong>, and the sport <\/strong>the origin of the question. Let's start with the former, as this could be relatively easily settled with a \"I don't know\", since no dictionary of the term has it. This leaves two possibilities: originally or could have been an imitation word<\/strong>, which is the getaway solution and can be blamed on pretty much anything, or a slang expression that has become distorted<\/strong> could be about. I read an argument about it in a forum on the index, which I find acceptable, but of course it is also quite far from the truth.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Origin of the word foosball<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In a heated state, for example during a very intense game of foosball, players will often cry out in joy or frustration. From this is the<\/strong>, or the English \"yes<\/strong>\" is quite common after goals, but in German, stable players who score consecutive goals are often referred to as \"machine<\/strong>\", while competitors from French-speaking countries often say \"oui monsieur<\/strong>\", or \"p**ain\" swearing.<\/p>\n

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In other words, in a heated state, as a projection of success, we often use all sorts of words, and link to<\/em> <\/strong>slang has basically two meanings according to the Hungarian Slang Dictionary. One is the wonder\/miracle report<\/strong>. The other is goodbye<\/strong> - this is a distorted version of ciao\/csao - often used to taunt your opponent, ending the match and sending him away from the table. The above is not something I've just plucked out of my little finger, but from the e-language<\/a> which I found on this page index forum for reference<\/a> and this explanation, for want of a better one, may be correct.<\/p>\n

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The origins of foosball as a sport<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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About the sport - what it is at home officially only leisure activities<\/strong> - there are several theories. The different stories can be split in three directions<\/strong>, but completely accurate sources are not available. In the early 1900s, the sport was not followed nearly as closely as it is today, so any one or all of these could be true. It's also not entirely clear what we call foosball or what exactly fits into the sport, which you'll find out when I explain the various origins in more detail.<\/p>\n

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But before we do, let's take a short detour, because organised, high-court football was invented sometime in the 1860s<\/strong>. It is certain that foosball was invented later than that, sometime in the 1890s. In fact, of course, everyone wanted to translate football into a form that could be played indoors in the home, and so board games with a football theme were created. The Americans claim that the first patent relating to a foosball table was registered in the USA, sometime around 1901<\/strong>, but I have not found any credible source that can confirm this. It is generally believed to be more associated with Western Europe, so here are the origin stories. Let's start from the south, from Spain!<\/p>\n

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The origin of foosball: the Spanish line<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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One possible trend is the Spanish line, which Alexandre <\/strong>- originally Alexandre Campos Ram\u00edrez - de Finesterre <\/strong>who was a telegraph operator, a profession that still existed in the 1930s. He was the founder of the Patent dated 1937<\/strong>, which was registered in Spain, but during the turbulent years of the Spanish Civil War, the documents proving this were lost. There are several theories as to how this happened, some claiming that the documents were lost and destroyed on a boat trip. Later, Alejandro got together Francisco Javier Altuna to put the patented table into production<\/strong>, but this was thwarted by various dubious elements, including allegedly the mafia, in the hope of profiteering.<\/p>\n

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Alexandre in his patent even f\u00fatbolin<\/em><\/strong> refers to the sportsbook as. In Spanish, this is still the name of the game, apart from a few South American countries where the metegol<\/em><\/strong> and its variants are used. This is because Alexandre left Spain in 1937 and only returned to the country with the fall of the Franco dictatorship in 1976. In the meantime, he travelled around Latin America, promoting and perfecting his invention.<\/p>\n

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It is important to note that in the picture below, Alejandro is standing next to a two-legged foosball table with fork legs and a \"boat\" body. This style of play has been official since 2023 recognised by the international federation ITSF<\/a>. Nevertheless, it is a far cry from the way you might be used to playing in Hungary - or indeed in most of Europe. Here, you can catch and kick the ball with a forked foot, and to the outside observer the game looks more like a game of swipes than a game of organisation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The origin of foosball: the English line<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Another possible scenario is the creation of a foosball table Edwin Lawrence <\/strong>who was responsible for 1913<\/strong>-created the sport in , Despite this\u00a0Harold Searles Thornton<\/strong> is the first person to be associated with such a patent, or at least the first Englishman to file 1923 to the English Patent Office with his patent application<\/strong>. We even know the trademark number: 205,991<\/a>. A picture of the construction of the table was also produced, which shows that there are many similarities between modern and contemporary tables. Fun fact: Harold made the first foosball table because he was a fan of Tottenham Hotspurs and wanted to somehow bring football as a game indoors. The idea came from the matches in the matchbox and the box that surrounds it, so the first foosball table was made in exactly that size.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Table copyrighted by Harold Searles Thornton<\/i><\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Another oddity is that, since the English word soccer refers to football, the desktop version of this is logically table-soccer<\/em><\/strong> and the sport is still referred to as such today. Despite this, in the USA the foosball<\/em><\/strong> a term that has nothing to do with the local word football, which is roughly the equivalent of rugby. Its origins date back to sometime after the Second World War, when American soldiers were transporting foosball tables from Germany to the new homeland. The Germans football<\/em><\/strong> and from the words of the foosball<\/em><\/strong> which became even more widespread in the 1950s thanks to the Lawrence Patterson<\/strong> - who was a soldier stationed in West Germany - German Champion tables <\/strong>imported into the US from Germany.<\/p>\n

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The irony is that in the UK, the US Tornado tables are now used at a competitive level<\/strong> - along with the Italian table manufacturer Garlando - so we've basically come full circle and we're back from America to England.<\/p>\n

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Origin of the foosball: French line<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The French line to none other than To Lucien Rosengart<\/strong> who was both an automotive engineer and a businessman. In fact, cars were produced under the name Rosengart from 1927 until 1951. Despite this Lucien Rosengart's name is best associated with Peugeot and Citroen.<\/strong> But what's the connection to foosball? He supposedly designed the table for his family, or more specifically his grandchildren, so that they could keep themselves occupied when they were bored. This was once the 1930s<\/strong> could have happened, as reported in the Belgian magazine Le Soir illustr\u00e9<\/strong><\/em> in 1979, on page 26 of issue 2471.<\/p>\n

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To support this origin, it is argued that Lucien was a great inventor, and that his name is associated with, for example, the early seat belt or artillery shell developed during the war<\/strong>that exploded in the air. So, if he is credited with such modern inventions, why not be one of the inventors of the foosball table?<\/p>\n

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one of the inventors of foosball, Lucien Rosengart<\/em><\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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It is a French peculiarity that the nation does not use the words table-soccer or foosball for foosball, but babyfoot<\/em><\/strong>which is also said to be by Lucien Rosengart. Also interestingly, there are still foosball tables sold under the name Rosengart, but it is not French, but Slovakian, and it is used mainly for competitions in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n

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The other line of thought is that of Paul Bonzini, who founded the Bonzini company near Paris in 1927, which is still in operation today. He made furniture and kitchen cabinets, and then turned to the entertainment industry In 1936, the first Bonzini foosball table was produced<\/strong>. Today Bonzini is one of the world's leading manufacturers of foosball tables. It is still the official table of the French Foosball Federation.<\/p>\n

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What happened overseas, in the USA?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The topic of the origins of foosball would not be complete without the history of American foosball. In connection with the English line, I have already mentioned the American line, which is actually a compilation of elements of history, mainly related to European countries. First of all, let us go back a little to Searles Thornton, or rather his uncle, Louis P. Thornton, who took Harold's idea to the United States.<\/strong> He obtained local patents in 1927, but foosball had not yet become popular in America. On the other hand, this version of the table differs only slightly from the modern tables that are common today.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Theron N. Slosson patent<\/em><\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In 1933, the Chicago Theron N. Slosson<\/strong> registered the first US foosball table patent, Under the name Slosson table, <\/strong>which we know from the fact that the patent drawings are still available today. The next table was built in 1941, and then in 1969. These are all European standards, with specific modifications, and the already mentioned Lawrence Patterson <\/strong>who German champion chains<\/strong> imported into the US. The sport was eventually In 1962, it became established<\/strong>, and from there the sport began to spread in the United States, reaching its peak in the late 1970s.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Left: top players (right: Todd Loffredo, who is still active today); middle: 1976 edition; right: a final from the 1970s.<\/i><\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In the 70s and 80s, America was burning in a fever of soup. In case you can't imagine what it looked like back then, here are some facts about the races back then:<\/p>\n

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