Buy Vintage Foosball Tables - What You Need To Know
Things you want to know about vintage foosball table
Foosball is a German word for soccer-literally foot plus ball. Although the sport has a more formal name — table soccer, which American players don’t seem to love, it’s more wide known as foosball, or just dubbed foos.
Unfortunately, the origins of foobsall are not easy to trace. It is believed that foosball was first invented somewhere between the late 1800s and early 1900s. The first patent for a foosball table registered in the USA was in 1901, and since then this sport has evolved into a popular game with large following. As a result of foosball’s long history, vintage foosball tables from different years or ears aren’t difficult to find.
However, knowing what to look for is the key to making an informed and educated decision before a purchase. In this article, we’ll talk about the difference between various vintage foosball tables, and the pros and cons, as well as tips when you need to have a retro foosball table restored.
We also curated a short list of vintage style foosball tables on the market shall you be interested.
| Image | Model | Our Ratings | Check On |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Bradley Industrial Reclaimed Wood Iron Foosball Table |  (5 / 5) | Amazon |
| Eastpoint Foosball Table | (4.2 / 5) | Amazon | |
 | Barrington Richmond Foosball Table | (4.5 / 5) | Amazon |
 | Barrington Allendale Foosball Table | (4.5 / 5) | Amazon |
What Defines A Vintage Foosball Table?
This is where most people are confused to start with. An actual vintage table is a foosball table designed and built decades ago. This is also what most professional collectors are referring to, as majority of these models were manufactured in the 60s and 70s.
Pros And Cons Of Vintage/Retro Foosball Tables
Yes, it just made me wonder why retro foosball tables garnered such attention from serious players and collectors. I personally love both vintage and modern designs. Don’t get me wrong, many vintage style tables on the market are made with high standards and solid wood materials that are meant to last. But there seem to be some sort of magic in retro tables.
Pros
- They offer much better quality because they were built in the years where quality outweighs quantity.
- They were hand made and very rarely a defect could be detected, a trait you don’t often see in their modern counterparts.
- They are aesthetically pleasing and unique. They don’t have fancy finish paints over the surface. Just handicraftsmen, traces from the worker’s hands hundreds of years ago, sweat and blood engraved in the details.
Cons
- Good luck finding parts.
- Could have less durability and gameplay tolerance due to the age and deterioration of the table itself.
- Very expensive if you ever found a well maintained table
- Could require a substantial amount of restoration or not functional at all
- They are getting rarer each year, and harder to find
What Other Types Of Vintage Foosball Tables Are There?
Good question. As we’ve mentioned before, a vintage table was made decades ago. However in modern days, there’s a group of vintage-style foosball tables being made to resemble actual vintage tables.
Vintage style foosball table
They look like and feel like vintage tables, and probably use solid wood frame, but they could be produced only two years ago. Some companies even make customized vintage style foosball table. They could be a restored table, or a brand new table that comes with an artisanal appearance. With this type of tables, they aren’t as expensive, and it is most certainly easier to find parts for them shall your table needs maintenance or repair.
Antique vintage table
As the name suggests, it is a piece of antique collection and usually non-function. And they are very rare, so if you do have one, it probably should only be utilized as an art display. With the faded colors and aged quality wood features in them, most owners of antique foosball tables add an antique table to their game room or home space to create a certain atmosphere. This type of tables is mostly found in European countries.
Where to find antique vintage foosball tables?
I recommend you browse on 1stDibs. They have tons of designers’ vintage items up their sleeves, from exquisite, luxurious to mid century collections. You can also try search on Pinterest, eBay or Craiglist, but I hardly find anything decent.
There’s another interesting website Debuchy toulet, where you can purchase and configure a restored vintage foosball table.
How To Restore Vintage Foosball Tables
Bottom line: You need to know what you are doing. And do as much research as possible.
If you ever come across a vintage table that requires some work, first of all, make sure you assess the problem or the damage first. If you have an original user manual, it’s the time for it to shine. What components are working and what are not, gather the tools you’ll need before you even started.
Secondly, take lots of photos to trace back what you’ve altered. Take a photo at each step when you dissemble one part, so you know how to put them back together.
Third thing, figure out what parts you need to restore the table back to functional status, and do your market research. Basic parts such as bolts and screws could be easy to source in nearby shops, take measurement and look for a match. Make sure you get your hands on whatever components replacement you need before you go any further.
Last but not least, know how to maintain a foosball table, especially after you spent all that efforts and time restoring it.
Also, if you were lucky enough to get the materials from a professional dealer, ask the seller/manufacturer nicely for advice and guidance and see if they have some knowledge they can share.
We do not recommend you do this by yourself on a costly table unless you are trained and familiar with carpentry and engineering.
Final Thoughts
We hope that this article provided useful information for you regarding your decision on purchasing a vintage or retro foosball table. There’s definitely something captivating in vintage tables, just like all the other retro collectibles.
One thing for sure is that these old school tables have the characters in them that never get old!
