I always enjoy featuring the “Coaches” who play Solitaire ELECTRIC FOOTBALL and the rules they use in their solitaire electric football game play.
One such coach contacted the Museum and offered his rules to be examined and asked for my opinion of his rules. I am always happy to do so.
My initial response was as follows:
“Rules look fine. Looks like you got everything covered. I like that they are short and don’t go into a lot of unnecessary details. I find them easy to understand. I will try them out later.
When it comes to solitaire, I will never tell anyone how to play their games.”
If it is something that I think is worth sharing with the rest of the ELECTRIC FOOTBALL Community, I will usually ask for permission to feature them in a blog post, to give me a bio of themselves and a short history of their interest in and involvement in the game and hobby.
Here, in his own words, is Coach Glenn Merritt’s response:
I originally started playing electric football in the early 70’s when my brother got an electric football game for Christmas; it was the 630, Jets and Browns. I was a Jets fan at that time and extremely disappointed I had to play the game using the Browns. The next Christmas, I received my best Christmas gift ever: The Joe Namath Electric Football game. My brother and I would spend hours doing what we believed was tweaking the bases. We would rub the prongs back over and over and put two linemen against a sideways 10-yard marker and let the motor run because we believed it was making them stronger. We had some close friends in the neighborhood, and started a league of six teams; we kept stats, but I don’t believe we ever finished a season, as a different sports season would start.
I went into the service and met my wife, and it was easier at that point to continue to play board games, mostly Strat-O-Matic and Statis Pro. After the Air Force, my wife and I moved back to Upstate NY, and our time has been taken up with our family. I coached my sons in football, wrestling, and lacrosse, and combined with building a career, didn’t have much time to get involved with any hobbies, so my time between playing as a child and today is significant, As my children grew up and had families of their own, I ended up coaching my grandson in Pop Warner, which was a really unbelievable feeling. My grandson is currently going to be a senior next year in high school and is representing my family playing my old positions, LB and HB. He, like his dad, has honored me by wearing the number I wore in high school: #24. I did do a couple of years as a ref in youth football, but then my grandson came calling, and as always, family first.
A couple of years ago, I decided to decorate my office with games from my youth: electric football, stick hockey, talking football, battling tops, etc. Still, there must have been something in my eyes when I spoke about electric football, as my wife surprised me on our 40th anniversary with a mini-ultimate; I could not have chosen a better friend for life, Thank You Jacqueline! That was two years ago, and I am so happy to be back; it’s kind of become an obsession, and I can’t wait to retire so I can play more.
Here is Glenn’s PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS Solitaire Electric Football League Rules for 2026.
If you should have any questions or comments concerning these rules, please ask them here and I will direct them to Glenn.
Thanks, and have a great day!!
And as always …
“Keep on Buzzin'” and “Just have Fun and Play the Game.”
The National Electric Football Game Museum 