The History of Pinball Machines and Pintables

BIM Gaming
http://www.bmigaming.com/pinballhistory.htm

The History of Pinball Machines and Pintables
The “ancestor” of all pinball machines is acknowledged to be the 19th century “Bagatelle-Table”,
a sort of hybrid between a “pin table” and pool table. Players tried to hit balls with cue sticks and
get them into pockets or slots surrounded by nails and pins. Another step towards the modern
pinball form occurred sometime at the end of 19th century, when inventor Montague Redgrave
patented a device called a “ball shooter”, which was based on the recently invented steel spring.

Games similar to this pictured below were first popular in bars and cafes in France and America,
but they were not coin operated – Players first exchanged money for balls to play with, then if
players obtained a high enough score, they would be awarded free drinks, meals and or cigarettes.

Soon after came the introduction of the first coin-operated Bagatelle and “Bingo” pin tables.
 

Pinball – The Early Years : 1930s – 1940s

The first coin-operated “pinball machine” was invented in 1931 by Automatic Industries and was
called “Whiffle Board”. But the gaming industry really began in the mid 1930’s with the production
of a game called “Ballyhoo”. It was invented by one Raymond Maloney, who later started the Bally
Manufacturing Company of Chicago, IL.
                     Click Here For A Video Clip Of Bagatelle Tables + Ballyhoo Coin Operated Pin Table In Action
The pinball machines of this era had wooden legs and wooden rails on the sides of the machine,
not like today’s modern marvels of chrome and steel.

“Ballyhoo” Ad, Circa 1934

It is thought the term “pinball” came into play at this time most likely due to the fact that the all the
machines of this era had many holes and pins in them. In 1933, electricity was first introduced to
pinball by adding a battery to the machine and in 1934, the first automatic scoring mechanism
would appear in the form of a “clock” counter, as well as the first “sounds” in a pinball machine
by way of electromechanical chimes, bells and buzzers. The popularity of the pinball machine
rose dramatically during the mid to late 1930’s in part due to the Depression and the need for low
cost entertainment for the masses. Since many pinball operators in the 1930’s gave away prizes
based on high scores, some players tried to cheat by shaking and lifting the game, so in 1935, the
“tilt” mechanism (a control that determine how hard a pinball machine can be “shaked”) was thought
up by Harry Williams, founder of the famous Williams Manufacturing Company, in response to players
learning how to control the game to their advantage. Modern day pinball machines employ two such
“tilt devices”, one that measures the movement of the game side to side, and another called the
“slam tilt” that is used to movement up and down and prevents such acts as “slamming” your
hand into the machine or trying to drop the machine.

The “slam tilt” consists of a couple of “leaf switches” that detect a slam when they touch each other,
while the “movement tilt” uses a pendulum and bob device that freely hangs inside a metal detection
ring. A tilt warning occurs when either the leaf switches meet or if the free-swinging pendulum rod
touches the metal ring. Most modern machines give one to three warnings (user adjustable) before
ending the game. Also in 1935, the first “backglass” appears with lighted scoring. As more features
were added, pinball machines are then outfitted with electrical transformers so they could be plugged
into standard 110V electrical outlets; with that advance, in 1937, the first “coil bumpers” were introduced
on Bally’s “Bumper” pinball machine. In 1939, “disc bumpers” are then introduced to the game.

Also during this time, pinball machine manufacturers grew exponentially – By the early 1930’s, over
145 companies were making pinball machines in the USA, with the majority based in Illinois, being
that Chicago was the center of pinball manufacturing at the time. But the competition became fierce,
and the landscape changed dramatically by the mid 1930’s, when less than 14 companies remained.

Pinball From The Late 40’s to the 90’s

Pinball machines really grew in popularity after World War II. The ten year period of 1948-58 is referred
to by some as the “Golden Age” of pinball, due to the invention of flippers in 1947 by the D. Gottlieb Co.
in a game called “Humpty Dumpty”, and was one of the main reasons for the renewed interest in
pinball machines at the time. Humpty Dumpty was the very first pinball machine with flippers !

                              Click Here For A Video Clip Of The Humpty Dumpty Pinball Machine In Action

But also in the mid 1940’s, many cities across America started to “outlaw” pinball machines, due to the popular perception that pinball was a game of “chance”, not skill (a perception that may have been based
on the older pinball machines not incorporating the use of flippers, which made those machines mostly
a game of chance), and therefore was a form of “gambling” – which of course at the banned across
America at the time, with the exception of the city of Las Vegas.

Many lawmakers also thought pinball was associated with the “mafia” and was dangerous distraction for children.
Also of note during this timeframe, because of effects of fighting World War II, most of America’s vast manufacturing capacity was switched over to support the ongoing war effort. And during these war
years (1941-1945), due to materials and part shortages, few pinball machines were ever produced.
But after the war ended, pinball manufacturing started ramping up again; in 1948, a firm called Genco placed one set of flippers at the very bottom of the playfield in a machine called “Triple Action” – But the setup was still a little unusual by today’s standards; the flippers were facing outwards, not inwards like today’s models. See the picture below:

“Triple Action”, Genco Mfg., circa 1948
The first game that had a modern flipper arrangement was the “Spot Bowler”, a 1950’s D. Gottlieb
Co. machine. Take a look at the picture below if you have not seen any of these games – you will
be surprised at the smaller size and position of the flippers – it was not until the mid 70’s that most
pinball machines adopted the longer 3 inch flippers we play with on today’s modern machines.
It was also in the mid 70’s that solid-state (or electronic) pinball machines were first introduced, starting
yet another huge wave of public popularity due to new games innovations, features, game reliability and
cool design features like electronic scoring, alphanumeric scoring, electronic sounds and finally
electronic speech, which lasted well into the late 80’s.

  Click Here For A Video Clip Of The Joker Poker Pinball Machine In Action

Finally, in 1976, the New York City “pinball ban” was overturned at a City Council meeting, due in part to
the lobbying efforts of the coin-op amusement industry by proving to the Council that pinball was a really
a game of “skill”, and not chance, and therefore should be legalized. They demonstrated their point in a
very unique fashion, by employing the talents of a young magazine editor named Roger Sharpe, who
was of the best players in the area. As the pinball machines lay in front of the council, and surrounded
by hoards of journalists and photographers, Sharpe proceeded to play and told the Council that based
only on his skill, he would get the ball to land through the middle lane on the playfield – And just after completing this historic shot, the City Council then voted to overturn the pinball machine ban for good.
(But as a side note, according to research the city of Nashville recently overturned a long-standing
ban anyone under 18 playing pinball, and it is still illegal to play pinball on Sundays in Ocean City, NJ)
The late 80’s saw Williams and Bally merge to become the dominant player in the market, and in the
90’s they both produced some of the most amazing pinball machines concepts ever dreamed of like Medieval Madness, Cirqus Voltaire, Twilight Zone, Theatre Of Magic, Monster Bash, Scared Stiff,
Tales Of The Arabian Nights and the most popular pinball machine in modern history, Addams
Family (with over 20,000 produced), along with many other modern-day collectible classics, and
finally the last pinball machines of the golden era of pinball manufacturers, Cactus Canyon and
the “Pinball 2000” machines, which combined video movies over standard pinball action.