Milton Bradley Company, simply known as Milton Bradley (MB), was an American board game manufacturer that was established by Milton Bradley (1836–1911) in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States. It was acquired by Hasbro in 1984 and merged, with Hasbro subsidiary Parker Brothers in 1998. The brand name continued to be used by Hasbro until 2009.
History
Foundation
Milton Bradley found success making board games. In 1860, Milton Bradley moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, and set up the state's first color lithography shop. Its graphic design of Abraham Lincoln sold well, until Lincoln grew his beard and rendered the likeness out-of-date.
Struggling to find a new way to use his lithography machine, Bradley visited his friend George Tapley.[1] Tapley challenged him to a game, most likely an old English game. Bradley conceived the idea of making a purely American game.[2] He created The Checkered Game of Life, which had players move along a track from Infancy to Happy Old Age,[3] in which the point was to avoid Ruin and reach Happy Old Age. Squares were labeled with moral positions from honor and bravery to disgrace and ruin. Players used a spinner instead of dice because of the negative association with gambling.[3]
By spring of 1861, over 45,000 copies of The Checkered Game of Life had been sold. Bradley became convinced board games were his company's future.[2]
When the American Civil War broke out in early 1861, Milton Bradley temporarily gave up making board games and tried to make new weaponry. However, upon seeing bored soldiers stationed in Springfield, Bradley began producing small games which the soldiers could play during their down time. These are regarded as the first travel games in the country.[4] These games included chess, checkers, backgammon, dominoes, and "The Checkered Game of Life". They were sold for one dollar a piece to soldiers and charitable organizations, which bought them in bulk to distribute.
Kindergarten movement
The Milton Bradley Company took a new direction in 1869 after Milton Bradley went to hear a lecture about the kindergarten movement by early education pioneer, Elizabeth Peabody. Peabody promoted the philosophy of the German scholar Friedrich Froebel. Froebel believed and advocated that children learn and develop through creative activities. Bradley would spend much of the rest of his life promoting the kindergarten movement both personally and through the Milton Bradley Company.[5]
In the late 1860s, Bradley became involved in the kindergarten movement. Deeply invested in the cause, his company began manufacturing educational items such as colored papers and paints. The company was hurt by Bradley's generosity as he gave these materials away free of charge. Due to the Long Depression of the late 1870s, his investors told him either his kindergarten work must go or they would go. Bradley chose to keep his kindergarten work. His friend George Tapley bought the interest of the lost investors and took over as president of the Milton Bradley Company.[5]
Springfield's first kindergarten students were Milton Bradley's two daughters, and the first teachers in Springfield were Milton, his wife, and his father.[6]
Later years
When Milton Bradley died in 1911, the company was passed to Robert Ellis, who passed it to Bradley's son-in-law Robert Ingersoll, who eventually passed it to George Tapley's son, William. In 1920, Bradley bought out McLoughlin Brothers, which went out of business after John McLoughlin's death.[4]
Milton Bradley began to decline in the 1920s and fell dramatically in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Fewer people were spending money on board games. The company kept losing money until 1940, when they sank too low and banks demanded payment on loans.[2]
Desperate to avoid bankruptcy, the board of directors persuaded James J. Shea, a Springfield businessman, to take over presidency of the company. Shea immediately moved to decrease the company's debt. He began a major renovation of the Milton Bradley plant by burning old inventory that had been accumulating since the turn of the century.
With the outbreak of World War II, Milton Bradley started producing a universal joint created by Shea used on the landing gear of fighter planes. They also reproduced a revised version of their game kits for soldiers, which earned the company $2 million.[2] Milton Bradley did not stop creating board games, although they did cut their line from 410 titles to 150.
Hasbro ownership
In 1984, Hasbro bought out Milton Bradley, ending 124 years of family ownership.[8] The 1990s saw the release of Gator Golf, Crack the Case, Mall Madness, and 1313 Dead End Drive.[2][9]
In 1991, Hasbro acquired Tonka, which included Parker Brothers.[10] In 1998, Milton Bradley merged with Parker Brothers to form Hasbro Games.[11] After the consolidation, Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers turned into brands of Hasbro before being dropped in 2009 in favor of the parent company's name, since adjusted to Hasbro Gaming.
Games published
Some of the games published by Milton Bradley were:
Board / card games
- 13 Dead End Drive
- Axis & Allies
- Battle Cry
- Battleship
- Broadsides and Boarding Parties
- The Checkered Game of Life
- Conquest of the Empire
- Crossfire
- Ea$y Money
- Fireball Island
- Fortress America
- HeroQuest
Gallery
External links
- Cornell Exhibit on Games with MB Kindergarten Curriculum
- Predecessor Company McLoughlin Bros. History
- Milton Bradley Games - information and parts at Gamepart.com
- MB Portuguese edition Games - all portuguese list
References
- Milton Bradley Company retrieved April 1, 2011^
- Milton Bradley Company Information Answers.com, retrieved April 1, 2011^
- Petrik, Paula. Exploring U.S. History retrieved April 1, 2011^