1947

Subbuteo is the brand name of a form of table soccer that was developed in 1947 by an Englishman by the name of Peter Adolph. His game was a refinement and development of a previous table soccer game that had been first introduced in 1920. That game was called 'NewFooty'. The common principle of both games was that small figurines with semi-spherical bases that were slightly flattened on the bottom were flicked at a ball to propel it forward and eventually into the opponent's goal. The defender had a goalkeeper, which was a figure which had a rod attached to the back of the base, extending through the back of the goal, which allowed manipulation to save shots. The NewFooty figures were made of lacquered cardboard which were inserted into lead bases. This lead made them very hard to flick. In 1947 Peter Adolph created his new Subbuteo game.

When Peter Adolph was ready to patent his game, he went to the British patents office with the idea of calling it 'The Hobby'. Of course, they said no way to that name, because everyone has a hobby and he could scarcely lay claim to an exclusive title. So he went away and dreamed up a new name. Mr. Adolph was a keen ornithologist, and his favorite bird just happened to be the English Hobby Falcon. The Latin name for this bird was Falco Subbuteo,so Mr. Adolph chose the name Subbuteo for his game. And the falcon has been on all Subbuteo products ever since, and most national federations at some time or other had the falcon head on their crest.

At this stage his figures were hard cardboard inserted into a plastic base. These figures, known as 'flats' were the basis of the game right through until the 60s. In the that period the figures were changed once more. The new figures were 00-scale, three dimensional plastic figures, mounted on a base that was similar in design to the original 'flats' base, but which was hollow, and which had a metal washer added to give it some stability. The game took off after this, as it was much easier to market it as an attractive realistic soccer game. Literally every British family owned a Subbuteo set. From there, Subbuteo set out to conquer the world. Immigrants took The game around the globe. In 1970  the first Subbuteo World Cup was held.

The basic principle of Subbuteo is dramatically different from all other table soccer games. This is the reason why this game is a major hit around the world.