Fair-Play Scoreboards' roots go way back to rural Dallas Center, Iowa in 1934. Company founder, Elmer Foster was superintendent for the Dallas Center school system and was called upon to decide the fate of a high school basketball game between Dallas Center and nearby Adel High School. 

During those times, timing for athletic events was done by volunteers from both teams manning hand-held stopwatches. As you can expect, occasional problems occurred. A close game between Dallas Center and Adel went to a last second shot. The timekeepers from both teams ruled in their favor of their teams. Mr. Foster, acting as the superintendent was called into the decide and ruled in favor of Adel.

After the game, he went home and designed his very first electronic time clock, complete with dial and horn.

His new timer was installed at the Dallas Center High School gym and it generated interest from coaches and officials from teams visiting Dallas Center. Many asked how they could acquire a clock for their own schools. That summer, manufacturing in Mr. Foster's attic and basement began.

The demand for these clocks became so great, that in 1938, Elmer Foster resigned from the teaching profession to manufacturing timers and scoreboards on a full-time basis, with many of these original clocks still in use today.

In 1997, Fair-Play Scoreboards was acquired by the Trans-Lux Midwest Corporation, a subsidiary of Trans-Lux Corporation, who is also a leading edge manufacturer of electronic display systems. The Trans-Lux team also includes Integrated Systems Engineering (ISE), who is also a major manufacturer of information and scoring displays.