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How Did the Foosball Table Get Its Name?
Foosball has one of the most interesting names among indoor games. How did this moniker stick to tabletop soccer? Though the game has a funny-sounding name, it’s a very serious pastime for those who enjoy it. Discover the origins of the foosball table and its name and you can have a better appreciation for this popular game.
From German to English
Football hasn’t always gone by that name. Nor is it the name for this table game elsewhere in the world. In the United Kingdom, it goes by “table football,” in France “jouer au baby-foot,” and Turkish players call it “langirt.”
The name for a foosball table comes from the German word for soccer, “fussball.” Americans mispronounced and misspelled it to create the name the game is called in the States today.
Origins of the Foosball Table
The origins of the foosball table are not very clear. Some say it originated somewhere in Europe in the 1880s while others claim that an inventor name Rosengart created the game for his children in the 1930s.
Americans first got foosball in 1927, when Louis Thornton brought the game from England and patented it. However, it did not become successful and was quickly forgotten until decades later.
In the 1950s, Belgians introduced league play to the world, and in 1976, a group formed the European Table Soccer Union. However, despite its name, the game had various table sizes and gameplay iterations across the European continent and around the world.
Foosball Played Today
Even today, gameplay and foosball table differ around the world. In the United States, Texas foosball as Europeans call it, has fast-paced play and a sturdy table to support it. Foosball in Germany has gameplay with a soft surface and strategies focused on lining up shots into the oversized goals. Similarly, in France, foosball has a cork ball and sticky playing surface to optimize passing and shot lines.
When you get a foosball table in America, it is designed for speed and durability. You’ll find a variety of table sizes to enhance the challenge and fit into your available space.
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Sources
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-murky-history-of-foosball-314668/
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/30320/brief-history-foosball