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There are many different stories on the origination of foosball. The general thought is that table soccer was created simultaneously by inventors from France and Germany in the 1920’s and 30’s.

One such story takes place during the Spanish Civil War when the poet and editor Alejandro Finisterre found himself in a hospital bed. During his recuperation, Alejandro became saddened by the bed ridden children he saw around him who were unable to play their beloved pastime of football (soccer as it is known in the U.S.). With the help of his friend Francisco Javier Altuna, a Basque carpenter, they constructed their first foosball table. He received a patent for this invention in 1937, but, during an escape from the fascist coup d’etat to France Finisterre, lost the patent papers in a storm.

Another tale tells of a Frenchman named Lucien Rosengart, an employee of the Citroen automobile factory, who is famous for his many inventions which include the minicar, front-wheel drive, and the seat belt to name a few - as well as the foosball table.

We will probably never know who built the very first foosball table, but what we do know is that despite its origination, the game became widely popular in Germany. In fact, the name foosball is derived from the German word fussball, literally meaning foot and ball. The popularity of the game in Germany was the stepping stone to foosball’s introduction to America. It was during World War II when American soldiers discovered foosball. Tables filled military hospitals and rec rooms where injured American soldiers used the game to help with rehabilitation and rebuilding hand-eye coordination.

The game was first brought to America in the 1950’s, but it wasn’t until 1962, when a soldier stationed in Germany named Lawrence Patterson arranged to import the highly popular European game “table football”, that the sport took off in America. Lawrence dubbed the table “Foosball Match,” and soon received American and Canadian copyrights for the name.

“Foosball Match” started slowly, but after a few years became well known with U.S. servicemen, and tables began making their way into rec rooms across America. In 1964 a Portland based table soccer distributor by the name of Billy Taylor organized the first foos tournament. By 1969 the popularity of the game with U.S. servicemen gave foos it’s big break, and with 250,000 plus soldiers returning home from Europe each year, the game took off.

At this time, foosball tables were still being imported from Europe. It wasn’t until 1970 that Bob Hayes, a foosball room operator, and Bob Furr, an engineer, created the “Dallas Tornado”. The American Tornado tables are popular today and vary slightly from the original foosball table.

Four years later John Gilliland and Cal Rogers filled the need for a governing body by establishing the World Table Soccer Association in 1974. As foosball tournaments with cash prizes became more common, serious players appeared and the sport started to make a significant mark in the American consciousness. In 1981, teen idol Leif Garrett starred in “Long Shot”, a full-length feature film about three teenagers’ quest to capture the National Foosball Championship’s top prize of $50,000.

For many years, communication problems frustrated attempts to form an international foosball organization. Thankfully, the kind of easy communication made available through the internet allowed the various national organizations to form the International Table Soccer Federation. They had their first meeting in 2002 in Franconville, France, during the world cup tournament on French style foosball tables. Representatives from Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Germany and USA were in attendance.

Today, foos is a game found in homes, college fraternities, rec rooms, bars and hospitals. Foosball tournaments payouts continue to rise with cash prizes as large as $100,000. So if you’re ready to get into the game, buy a foosball table, practice up, and claim your cash prize at one of the various tournaments around the world.