Discount Pinball Machines

 

The pinball machine began life in the 1930's as a counter top game as a hybrid spin-off from the much older game of Bagatelle. From this game, British inventor Montegue Redgrave patented his "Improvements in Bagatelle" table which added a coiled spring plunger to the original game that used a billiards cue. The idea was to propel the ball up the table to knock down pins - hence the name pinball.

 

Originally used as a gambling machine, the first pinball machines were the "Bingo" machines that were produced by the D. Gottlieb Company. By 1931, Gottlieb's Baffle Ball was the game to play, giving customers the opportunity to launch 5 balls for a penny. It wsa the Baffle Ball table that launched Gottlieb as the first manufacturer of the pinball machine.

 

Closely following Gottlieb was a company that was founded by former Gottlieb distributor Ray Maoloney. Maloney found it difficult to obtain enough Baffle Ball machines to sell and so, out of frustration, contracted Lion Manufacturing to construct Ballyhoo, a game of his own devising. The Ballyhoo game was an instant success because it was more complex than its older brother and proved more of a challenge for its customers. Maloney eventually changed the name of his company to Bally to take advantage of the success of the game.

 

The race was on with a growing market and in Los Angeles, a company by the name of Pacific Amusements entered the market in 1933 with a game it named Contact. Contact introduced a new feature that proved particularly popular - a solenoid that propelled the ball out of a hole in the middle of the table, sounding a bell at the same time. Designer of Contact was Harry Williams who would go on to form Williams Manufacturing in 1944.

 

The bumper was invented in 1937 by the Bally company and was designed into a machine they appropriately named Bumper.

 

In 1947, the Humpty Dumpty machine was brought out by Gottlieb which introduced the flippers allowing players to keep the balls in play for longer and introducing a true skill factor to the game.

 

The popularity increased through the 1950s, 60s and 70s before we entered the 1980s and the advent of video games began to encroach on the market, slowly edging them out. A brief return to popularity was enjoyed in the 1990s with a couple of innovations putting pinball machines back in the arcades.

 

This wasn't to last and falling sales eventually forced all but Stern to close their doors. Now it's the secondary market, collectors and fans from a bygone era who are looking to buy a pinball machine.

 

Pop on over to the pinball machine store and pick up a blast from the past today.