PINBALL EXPO '93
(PART 2)
by Russ Jensen
Last time I described all of the seminars
given at Pinball Expo '93
except
for one. I shall now describe that
final seminar, followed by
coverage
of the Banquet, game auction, and the Exhibit Hall.
PINBALL
HISTORY, ART, AND TECHNOLOGY
The final seminar on the Expo schedule
occurred on Saturday afternoon
(the
only seminar that day) and was the longest of them all. This was not
surprising,
however, when you consider it had not one, but four (count 'em)
guest
speakers.
Expo host Rob Berk began this offering by
telling us that there were
certain
individuals in the hobby that performed "beyond the call of duty".
He said
the seminar speakers would provide an "in-depth presentation"
covering
all aspects of the hobby.
Rob then introduced the first speaker,
Wayne Morgan from Canada, who
he said
was knowledgeable in many aspects of pinball, including history,
art,
and culture. After mentioning the
pinball exposition (appropriately
called
"Tilt") Wayne was involved in over 19 years earlier, the audience
broke
into a round of applause.
Wayne began by saying that today's
presentation would be an edited
version
of the talk they gave before the American Popular Culture meeting
in
1990. He then began to tell of the
"Tilt Exposition".
Wayne said that show was edited by him,
toured for five weeks, and had
a
catalog. He said that was the first
time a public institution (The
Regina
Public Library) seriously examined pinball.
In the early 1970's, Wayne then told us,
many Canadians wanted to stay
home,
work, and discover "what was there".
He said this resulted in an
increased
interest in folk art, amateur art, and "working man's pleasures".
Wayne then told of Canadian pinball fan
Pat McCarthy coming to his
office
at the Regina Public Library and leaving with the commitment to do
the
traveling exposition. He said they
obtained a grant from the Canada
Council
to finance the project.
After that, Wayne continued, Pat went to
Chicago to visit people in
the
pingame industry. He said that Pat had
a hard time at first getting
help
from industry people.
Wayne next showed some slides of the
exposition items which consisted
of 23
complete 1950's pingames, 10 playfields, and 5 backglasses. He then
told
about the wire services picking up on news of the exhibition and
publicizing
it around the world.
On opening night, Wayne told us, there
was a long line of people
waiting
to get in, some having to wait as much as an hour. He then
commented
that pin collecting in those days was not as prevalent as it is
today. Wayne then told about the newsletter (also
called "Tilt") which he
published
in the early 1970's, adding that several books on pinball came
out a
little later.
Wayne next told of other pinball related
exhibitions which occurred in
later
years. In 1981, he told us, French
collector Jean-Pierre Couvier put
on a
small exhibition, and later that year there was another show in Paris,
but
there was no documentation concerning it.
In 1982, Wayne continued, the Chicago
Public Library Cultural Center
put on
an exhibition of pinball art from the 1970's and 1980's. He said
this
exhibition featured both backglasses and playfields, that none of the
games
could be played, and that the games were tilted in such a way that
the
playfields were clearly visible.
Wayne next told of another exhibition at
the University of Waterloo in
Canada
which he said also was not documented.
He then told of the 17 day
exhibition
of pingames, called "Pinball Wizardry", which was held in St.
Louis
in the Summer of 1990. Since that time,
Wayne commented, there has
been
much research related to pinball.
Wayne ended his talk by commenting that
the history of pingames was in
some
ways similar to the history of the electric guitar. He then
introduced
the next speaker, pinball historian and author Dick Bueschel,
which
drew a round of applause.
Dick began his part of the seminar with
the question - "what is
popular
culture, and why does pinball qualify?"
He then answered the
question
by telling us that it is "an ever-moving mass of public mores,
modes,
and entertainments", citing Hula Hoops as an example.
Dick next talked about pinball's early
ancestor, the game of
Bagatelle. He said that that game had it's roots in
such 18th Century
games
as "Bowling on the Green" and "Nine Balls".
Dick then told about the game of
"English Billiards" which he said
when
put on an incline, and with pins added to it, became Bagatelle around
1717. He then started telling of French king Louis
XVI and his connection
with
that game.
Dick explained that Louis built a large
estate outside of Paris which
he
named "Chateau de Bagatelle", and that the game was named for
that. He
then
described the game in some detail.
Bagatelle, Dick went on, soon became
"the rage of France", and also of
the
French Army who brought it to our country during the Revolutionary War.
He then
commented that Louis' chateau was now a public park.
In the United States, Dick continued, the
U.S. Army spread Bagatelle
around
the country. The Gold Rush of 1849, he
told us, helped to build up
San
Francisco which had many saloons. He
said that the saloon supply
houses
of the East and bagatelle makers of Paris were kept busy supplying
various
games to saloons in the area.
Dick then told of a San Francisco game
producer who started around
1855
named Philip Lisenfeld who he said put out over a dozen different
models
including several large bagatelles. He
then said that his chief
game
designer, William Evers, created a new game around 1870 called JENNY
LIND
which Dick told us had revolving targets on it's playfield. He then
referred
to Evers as "the first playfield designer."
The City of Cincinnati, Dick told us, was
a major industrial center in
the
latter half of the Nineteenth Century.
Around 1869, he continued,
Bagatelle
maker Michael Redgrave set up shop in that city. In May 1870,
when he
was only 24 years old, Redgrave obtained a very important patent
for the
use of a spring-loaded plunger on a Bagatelle game.
Later, he added bells to the game, Dick
remarking that he was really
"the
father of pinball". In May of 1871
he was said to have been granted
another
important patent.
Dick told us that Redgrave later moved to
Chicago only to have his
factory
damaged in the great Chicago fire.
After the city was rebuilt Dick
said he
founded a new company, Redgrave and Wilson, which became the first
producer
of a Bagatelle game employing a spring-loaded plunger to launch
the
balls onto the playfield.
When the demand for this type of game
shortly increased, Dick said
Redgrave
moved to Jersey City, later obtaining some more patents. He then
told us
that Redgrave advertised his games in the Police Gazette, and that
he
produced bagatelles up until 1927.
Dick then told of another game producer
coming out with a game in 1876
with a
"runway" (the first "multi-level playfield", he called it)
and even
a
"ball lift" device. The first
"coin controlled" bagatelle type game,
Dick
went on, was an "upright" game produced in England in 1899 and was
called
PICKWICK.
Dick then said that in 1891 a 36 year old
Canadian, Robert H. Little,
produced
a saloon trade stimulator which vended cigars.
The first "true pingame", Dick
then told us, having an inclined
playfield
was produced in the Fall of 1892 by Charles P. Young of York
Pennsylvania. He called it a "coin game board"
and Dick said it was
similar
to the pingames which were produced in the early Thirties. He said
that to
date none of these games have ever been found.
After telling of another early game,
referred to as a "trading
machine",
which was produced in Alton Illinois and had an "automatic ball
shooter",
Dick told of another pioneer game which came out in 1901.
Dick said this game, called AUTOMATIC
FLAG TABLE, made by Paul F.
Berger,
was quite popular and used full-sized Billiard balls. He then told
us that
it had a "coin acceptor" and a form of "automatic scoring".
At that point Dick talked about the most
well-known of pinball's early
ancestors,
LOG CABIN. He said this game first came
out in 1901, and was
made
and sold up into the 1920's. He then
told of a game made in 1903
which
had a "lighted backglass" and automatic scoring.
Dick next started describing the early
pingames which came out in the
early
Thirties. Such games as ABT's BILLIARD
SKILL and DUTCH POOL were
mentioned. He said these "marble games"
rapidly gained in popularity at
that
time.
Dick then told of a Californian, George Miner,
who he referred to as
"the
father of the modern pingame."
George's career, Dick told us, was
fairly
short. One of his early designs, ALL
AMERICAN AUTOMATIC BASEBALL,
which
first came out in 1928, was the game which fascinated young Harry
Williams
when he was just getting into the games business.
That game, Dick continued, had a score
indication device and let the
player
play until "3 outs" were made, and had balls which advanced around
the
bases. Dick said this basic design
formed the basis of Rockola's 1937
hit
baseball game WORLD SERIES.
Dick then told us that Miner's baseball
game first came out when the
market
was not so good. In 1933, he went on,
Miner sold the rights to his
design
to Bally who used his patents on many of their games. We were then
told
that Bally made Miner their Chief Engineer in 1935, Dick adding that
George
died in a plane crash in October of that year.
Dick next told of a ban on pool halls in
Texas. He said this brought
about
the manufacture of miniature pool games which led to player
acceptance
of table-top games.
Dick then talked briefly about another
pioneer pingame, WHIFFLE, which
came
out in January of 1931, telling about it's inventor, Earl Froom, who
appeared
as an Expo guest speaker several years ago.
He then told of a
game
called ROLL-A-BALL which was put out by Charles Chizewer in May of
1931.
This game, Dick remarked, was available both with or without a coin
payout
and provided 5 balls for a penny.
Dick then told of a game called BINGO
which was created by Nathan
Robin
and later manufactured by D. Gottlieb & Co. He then commented that
shortly
after that Dave Gottlieb "struck it rich" with his very popular pin
BAFFLE
BALL.
The 1931 coin machine show, Dick then
commented, had no pingames, but
the
1932 show had about sixty! He then
started talking about Ray Moloney,
the
founder of Bally.
Dick told us that Ray was an assistant in
a punchboard business which
used
the names of Lyon Manufacturing Co. and Midwest Novelty Co. and which
eventually
got into pins. He said they tried to
get BAFFLE BALL games from
Gottlieb,
but when they could not get them fast enough Ray decided to make
his own
game.
After he had created the "whiteboard"
for his game, Dick continued, he
wanted
to be able to show it at the February 1932 coin machine show. Ray
then
saw a striking cover on an edition of the current satire magazine
Ballyhoo
and decided to steal both the cover artwork and the name for his
new
creation.
After that, Dick told us, Moloney started
Bally Manufacturing (named
after
the game) to produce it. He then told
of the song Ray used at his
booth
at the show "What'll They Do in 32? - Play Ballyhoo!". Dick then
said
pinball games in 1932 were the hottest new thing to come along at that
time.
Dick then told us that over 100 pingames
were introduced in that year,
with
almost anyone who could build a game doing so.
He then told of
Gottlieb's
game from that year, FIVE STAR FINAL, which was thought by some
to be
named that way because Dave Gottlieb thought it would be his last
pin. In actuality, however, it was named for an
edition of a Chicago
Newspaper.
At that point Dick began telling of the
many problems and lawsuits
which
plagued the pingame industry in those early years. He first told of
a
lawsuit by WHIFFLE inventor Earl Froom alleging patent infringement by
the
pingame industry. He said Mills Novelty
finally bought the Froom
Patents.
Another important court case, Dick told
us, was Calison vs Gottlieb.
He said
it was thrown out of court, but if Gottlieb had lost the case it
could
have meant the end of that company.
Dick ended by telling us
"pinball
lives and will endure!"
At that point the next speaker, Gordon
Hasse, was introduced who was
said to
have a great interest in the pingames of the 1950's. Gordon's part
of the
presentation was said to be titled "Dreams and Aspirations of the
Golden
Age".
Gordon began by drawing our attention to
the great pinball artist
George
Molentin who he said was responsible for more amusement game art
than
any other person on earth. He then
began showing slides of the
pinball
art of both George and the other great pinball artist Roy Parker
from
the period from 1947 through 1960.
Gordon began his slide show by remarking
that George and Roy were the
most
respected pinball artists of the period.
He then told us that pinball
art
began in the 1930's as decorative design whose purpose was to attract
players
to the games as well as to present the game's "rules".
In the 1930's, Gordon went on, pinball
art differentiated hundreds of
different
games. On the earliest games he said
the art primarily was used
to
illustrate the game's name/theme.
With the introduction of electric scoring
to pinball, Gordon told us,
the art
was used to "report the player's progress". He then remarked that
the
backglasses of pingames became the place where the game's theme is most
totally
developed. He then began showing
examples of this.
The backglasses Gordon then showed
included: Roy Parker's Gottlieb
creations
ROCKETTES and JUST 21 (1950), HAPPY DAYS (1952), LADY LUCK
(1954),
and TWIN BILL (1955). The Molentin
games shown were: PINKY (1950)
and
SHOO SHOO (1951).
Gordon next remarked that on first
impression one might think pin art
was
just "girls, girls, girls", but it also functions in a host of
different
ways, he added. He then told us that
the girls were there to
appeal
to the young working-class males who were the main pinball players
in
those days, adding that playing pinball was "a respite from reality"
for
them.
Gordon next showed Parker's beautiful
QUEEN OF HEARTS from 1952. He
described
the girl in the picture as "beautiful, but tantalizing", adding
that
she was also a player. He then told us
that QUEEN OF HEARTS was a
very
successful game and that it was one of it's designer's, Wayne Neyens,
favorites.
More "Parker pin-ups" where
then shown. These included: JOKER
(1950),
POKER
FACE (1953), GYPSY QUEEN and EASY ACES (1955), and ACE HIGH and ROYAL
FLUSH
both from 1957.
At that point Gordon's slide show
switched over to "the other master"
(as he
called him), George Molentin. After
showing George's backglass for
Williams'
1952 game FOUR CORNERS, Gordon remarked that Parker's girls were
move
comic or "pin-up", while George's are more sophisticated or
"damsels
in
distress". He added that players
should be happy to spend 5 cents just
to be
with any of them.
Back to Parker again, Gordon showed his
1954 game DAISY MAY with it's
"Dogpatch"
scene, followed by his 1948 classic BARNACLE BILL, remarking
about
the brothel in the scene. He then
showed what I consider probably
Parker's
greatest creation (with the possible exception of Genco's METRO),
DRAGONETTE
from 1954.
Gordon then remarked that the DRAGONETTE
art could be described as
"pop
culture on pop culture on pop culture".
He said this was because it
was a
pinball satire of a TV show which came from a radio show which was a
reflection
of the times that spawned it.
Gordon then told about a male character
on the glass dressed in
women's
clothes which he said was Parker's pun on being "in drag". We were
then
shown some details of the playfield art.
We were next shown more great 1950's
backglasses having themes
associated
with various activities such as dancing, shopping, air travel,
ice
shows, and circuses, all featuring pretty girls in the scenes.
After showing Roy Parker's DIAMOND LIL
from 1954, Gordon began showing
some of
the many games with a travel theme prevalent in the late 1940's and
early
1950's. These included games such as
MANHATTAN, SAN FRANCISCO,
BOSTON,
OKLAHOMA, NEVADA and WISCONSIN.
Switching to International travel, Gordon
showed CONTROL TOWER,
BERMUDA,
and backglass scenes from France and Algeria.
Sports themes were
then
illustrated by DERBY DAY, BASEBALL, and a game with an "Indy Race"
theme.
After showing scenes illustrating pool
halls and bowling alleys,
Gordon
showed Parker's KNOCK OUT from 1950, which showed people in the
boxing
ring audience fighting with each other.
He said this was more of
the
satire Parker was famous for.
We were next shown Parker's backglass for
Gottlieb's FRONTIERSMAN from
1955
which had a Davy Crockett theme. Again
Gordon pointed out the Parker
comedic
touches, such as a road-sign reading "Al-a-mode - 1000 Miles".
The next backglass Gordon showed was
Parker's NIAGARA from 1951, He
described
the scene as showing "where the fantasy world collides with the
real
world". He said it depicted when
the working-class male, with his
idea of
marital bliss when he marries the girl next door, finally decides
to get
married and enters the real "adult world" of marriage.
That ended Gordon's fine artistic
presentation.
The fourth speaker, Steve Young, was then
introduced. His topic, we
were
told, was going to be how technology affected pingame design.
Steve began by remarking that pinball
design could be considered as a
"kinetic
art form". He then started
describing various technological
advances
in pingame design over the years.
Steve again mentioned the introduction of
the spring-loaded plunger
first
used on bagatelle back in the latter part of the Nineteenth Century.
In
1933, he then told us, came the introduction of electric power from
batteries
and the TILT mechanism (first mechanical, then electrical). He
also
mentioned steel balls replacing glass or ceramic ones used on some
games
in the early Thirties.
In 1936, Steve continued, came the
introduction of the spring bumper
and the
electric "score totalizer" on Bally's watershed game BUMPER. He
then
told how relays were used enabling a small electric current to control
larger
currents - they being used on all pingames up until the introduction
of
solid-state electronics to pinball in the late 1970's.
After remarking that in the mid-Thirties
backboards were added to
pins,
increasing in size during that decade, Steve briefly mentioned the
World
War II period when the pinball industry turned to "war work". After
the war
he said technological advances in pins began again.
Steve then mentioned the introduction of
the "score motor" and
flippers
(on Gottlieb's HUMPTY DUMPTY in December 1947) the latter he said
"changing
the game forever". Later
developments he then mentioned included
pop-bumpers,
contact kickers, targets, kickout and trap holes, and the
"free
ball gate".
By the early 1950's, Steve told us, there
was a technical lull in
pingame
development, with designers beginning to experiment with using
various
combinations of the previous developments on the playfield. At
first,
he continued, the games' backboxes were still comparatively simple.
Steve then told of the beginning of
multi-player pins in 1954. Later,
he went
on, the designers started using "mechanical animation" in the
backbox. He then remarked that single-player games
were always preferred
by the
"true players".
In 1978, Steve then told us,
single-player pins started to "pass from
the
scene" with the advent of solid-state games. As a final comment on
electro-mechanical
game technology Steve mentioned the introduction of the
"drop
target" in 1968.
Steve next continued talking about the
introduction of solid-state
microprocessor
controlled games which started around 1977 with such games
as
Bally's EVIL KNIEVAL. He began by
remarking that these new games were
"both
simpler and more complex" (especially the game control technology).
Steve then diverted for a moment to the
history of pingame "sound
technology." He said at first in the early Thirties there
was no sound at
all. But soon bells were added, some being struck
by the ball to produce
sound,
but mostly operated by electricity.
Then, in the 1970's, Steve continued,
electro-mechanical chimes were
used,
followed by microprocessor generated chime effects. In 1979, Steve
then
told us, the first game to employ electronic speech, Williams' GORGAR,
came
out. This was followed by more
electronic sound effects and speech.
Steve then told us that in 1984 or 1985
pingames began to utilize
"computer
control" to integrate the play of the game with various light and
sound
effects. After that, he continued,
other advances in game
sophistication
occurred including multi-level playfields, ramps, and alpha-
numeric
(followed by "raster") displays.
Steve ended by saying what he has
chronicled has been the adaption of
new
technology to provide more entertainment value to the public. This, he
continued,
to provide excitement, keep people honest, increase the skill
level
necessary to play, and keep production in line with the economics of
the
industry. The promise of the future,
Steve then added, is to provide
more
technology and devise even more exciting games for the next generation
of
players.
At that point Wayne Morgan got back up to
make some closing remarks.
He
began by remarking that the growth of the pinball collecting hobby and
associated
research in the past 19 years has been impressive. He then
commented
that there have been about two dozen books on pinball put out
during
that time.
Wayne then said that the interest in
pingame collection,
documentation,
and study has had a somewhat slow growth as compared to
other
aspects of popular culture. But, he
went on, there is something to
be said
for that as that generally results in a stronger foundation.
One thing that is left, Wayne then told
us, is a process of validation
by the
institutions charged with the collection and preservation of objects
which
are a part of our everyday life. By
that Wayne said he meant that
museums,
for instance, should show bagatelle games and have information on
Redgrave.
For example, he continued, the Chicago
Historical Society's exposition
of the
past 200 years of the city should have something about Redgrave,
plus
information of the rise and fall of the bagatelle industry in the
area. Wayne then added that the museum's archives
should allow for
research
into the coin-op industry of the district, including legal,
business,
social, and technological aspects of it.
Finally, the audience was asked if they
had any questions? Referring
to the
slides previously shown, the panel was asked what kind of light is
best
for photographing pingames?
Steve Young replied that the use of
subdued sunlight allows good
photos
to be made without reflection. He then
recommended using a good
telephoto
lens. This precipitated a brief
discussion with people in the
audience
regarding photography techniques.
In was then asked during what time period
payout pingames were most
prevalent? Bally's first payout, ROCKET, in 1933 was
said to be the first.
It was
also stated that a Swedish distributor added a payout to Bally's
earlier
game AIRWAY. It was then said that
payout pingames were very
detrimental
to the game itself.
Someone then asked if anyone had done a
history of the bingo pinball?
The
panel did not seem to know, but I later told the questioner about the
article
I had written on that subject several years ago.
When asked if artist Roy Parker ever did
art for anyone other than
Gottlieb,
the answer given was "yes, for both Chicago Coin and Genco." It
was
also emphasized that he did all the Gottlieb art up until 1962.
It was then asked who did the Gottlieb
art in the 1970's? The answer
given
was Gordon Morrison.
When Steve Young was finally asked if he
still collected pingame
serial
numbers, he answered "yes". That ended this very interesting and
informative
final Expo seminar.
THE
BANQUET
The annual Expo banquet was held, as usual, on Saturday
evening. I
felt
very privileged when Steve Kordek of Williams/Bally/Midway Games
invited
me and my good friend John Campbell to sit at the "Williams table".
After a
nice meal the after dinner festivities began.
First on the program was Expo seminar
presenter Todd Tuckey's
surprise,
his "name that head game", during which various pinball backboxes
were
described - the audience trying to guess the name of the game.
At that point it was time for the
evening's featured speaker Alvin
Gottlieb
to give his talk. Rob Berk started to
introduce Alvin by saying
"the
best way to introduce Alvin is Patent 4,971,393" (the number of his
now
famous "smart flipper" patent).
Alvin's son, Mike Gottlieb, then
interrupted Rob by saying "I have a
better
way". Mike then started mentioning
some of Alvin's many friends in
the
industry over the years. He then told
us that people see the results
of what
his father does, but most people don't know what things are most
important
to him.
The most important thing to Alvin, Mike
then told us, was his family.
Second,
he continued, Alvin always wants to "give back a gift" to the
people. In that connection, Mike told about the
Gottlieb Memorial
Hospital,
with it's newly added Cancer Center, to which his father
contributes
much time and energy.
Mike then remarked that people always ask
him what Alvin is all about?
He then
proceeded to tell an interesting story about his dad.
He told us that his father had been a
radio "ham" for many years.
Back in
1975, he continued, he put a radio set in his car and connected it
to a
telephone handset. He then called other
hams and had them "patch" him
to
someone on the telephone - the first "mobile phone".
Mike next commented that he often hears
about the "generation gap".
He said
that this was really no problem for him as Alvin is "a kid at
heart"
and never stops learning.
He then told us that Alvin and the family
really loved the Marx
Brothers. He said that he even calls his father
"boss", just like Chico.
Mike
then commented that his father was always talking about the Ritz
Brothers,
who he had never heard of and thought didn't exist. But, he
said,
when he saw their "star" on Hollywood Blvd. he became a believer.
Finally, Mike introduced his father. He told us Alvin was "a model
executive
with a warm personality". The
audience then applauded as Alvin
got up
to speak.
Alvin began by quipping "what an
introduction - just the way I wrote
it." After remarking that Mike was "his own
man", he told us that he has
been
together with his girlfriend Donna for 15 years now.
At that point Alvin took out a long piece
of paper which he jokingly
said
was his notes. He then said that Rob
Berk had told him to keep an eye
on the
clock during his talk.
Alvin then told us that he wanted to talk
about pinball - where it's
been
and where it's going?
After mentioning the contributions to
pinball of Wayne Neyens and
Steve
Kordek, he praised Dick Bueschel and his book "Pinball 1". Alvin
then
commented that people should get a hold of all the books that are out
on
pinball. He then remarked about what he
called "the astounding
ingenuity"
of people in the pinball industry.
Alvin next told us that he was born in
1927 - the same year his father
founded
D. Gottlieb and Co. He then said he had
"lived with the business"
when he
was young, considering the factory as his "second home."
At that point Alvin told of the early
battery operated pingames in the
1930's,
telling how when the batteries went bad they leaked acid inside the
game
cabinets making them "gooey".
He then told how Steve Kordek at Genco
used
D.C. components for many years, telling how this had some advantages
over
the more common A.C. circuitry used in most games, especially with
regard
to "timing" and "delays".
When Alvin then told us that he was
partial to electro-mechanical pins
he drew
a round of applause from us "old timers". He then told of sitting
next to
Wayne Neyens at the old Gottlieb plant in the early days, remarking
that
the old games were like "old friends" to him.
Alvin next began talking about the
beginnings of solid-state
circuitry. He said that the engineers at Bell Telephone
Laboratories
invented
the transistor - adding that before that the only solid-state
electronic
devices were diodes and crystals.
After referring to the Bell people as
"geniuses", Alvin said that the
old
telephone equipments they designed were designed to have about a 20
year
life. He then lamented the break up of
"Ma Bell".
After that, Alvin went on, the Japanese
saw an opening and got
together
to produce standardized, mass produced, electronic parts. He then
said
that he admired Motorola executive Bob Galvin who he said didn't sit
still
and began a good quality control program at his company.
Along with the introduction of
solid-state circuitry into telephone
equipment,
Alvin remarked, came the use of that type of circuitry in
pingames. He then commented that most people today are
used to computer
and
solid-state terms, but in his day many of those words had entirely
different
meanings.
Alvin then jokingly gave a list of these
terms and what they used to
mean
before computers came along. He began
by saying that in his day
"solid-state"
was only a condition.
Some of the other definitions included:
"semi-conductor" - a short
orchestra
leader; "mouse" - had big ears and was named Mickey; "hard
drive"
- a
baseball term; "software" - ladies undergarments; and "RAM"
- a Dodge
truck.
His list continued with such definitions
as: "cursor" - a seedy old
boy who
hit his thumb with a hammer; "microprocessor" - something which
chops
carrots into small pieces; "spreadsheet" - something you do to a bed;
"monitor"
- a mean teacher in the hall; and "high resolution" - "I'll
never
do it
again".
Getting back to pingames, Alvin remarked
that he thought the current
games
were "fantastic", with their multi-dimensional playfields, great
sound,
flashing lights, and complex game rules.
He then commented that
players
today have to think about the rules of the games, but really love
to play
them.
Regarding his son's introduction of him,
Alvin commented that the
dictionary
defines "model" (model executive) as "a small version of the
real
thing", and "warm" (warm personality) as "not so
hot". "Terrific", he
said,
"thanks a lot!"
As to where pinball is going in the
future, Alvin first remarked that
pingames
are where they are today primarily because solid-state pins have
"memory". He then commented that the designers today
are doing really
great
things.
As to what's coming, Alvin said we could
expect higher resolution
color
displays, and new "devices" on the playfield giving the player lots
to do
and to think about. He then commented
that he sees a great future
for the
game and is glad to be "back into it".
(AUTHOR'S
NOTE: Shortly before I wrote this I
learned that Alvin G. and
Co.
went out of business. It was sad news
to hear and I wish Alvin, Mike,
and
their crew the best of luck in their future endeavors.)
At that point Alvin said that when he
spoke at the first Expo banquet
in 1985
he presented a slide show which ran over two hours. He said he was
going
to present one this time, but would try to make it shorter.
The first slide was of the old political
cartoon showing Abe Lincoln
playing
a game of pinball's early ancestor Bagatelle.
After showing photos
of his
dad, David Gottlieb, at age 9 delivering newspapers, and at age 26
when he
was in Dallas operating grip testers, he showed the original D.
Gottlieb
and Co. plant at 4318 Chicago Ave.
Alvin then told of once asking his dad
why his penny grip testers had
such a
large coin slot? His dad was said to
have replied "we would take
anything
anyone wanted to put in, even streetcar tokens."
After showing LOG CABIN, the pingame
format trade stimulator which
came
out around the Turn of the Century, he showed the 1931 Leo Berman pin,
BINGO,
which Gottlieb bought the rights to and built.
He then showed
Gottlieb's
high selling 1931 pingame BAFFLE BALL, which he said the factory
produced
300 to 400 per day at one time.
Alvin next showed Bally founder Ray
Moloney, who he said was his
father's
good friend, and his pioneer pingame BALLYHOO.
We next saw
Gottlieb's
1932 pin PLAYBOY, followed by their FIVE STAR FINAL. That game
he said
some people thought was named that because Dave thought it might be
his
last pingame - but it was actually named for a newspaper edition.
Alvin next mentioned a man named Joe
Litowski, who he referred as his
father's
"first employee". He said Joe
was in charge of the tool room at
the
plant and required everybody, even the boss's son, to check out his or
her
tools.
He then told us that there were several
employees at the old Gottlieb
plant
named Joe. Alvin then joked that they
all had the same middle name,
"bida". He said, "you know, Joe 'bida' tool
room, Joe 'bida' punch press,
etc."
Alvin's slide show continued, telling and
showing different things
about
the company's (and his father's) history. After awhile he talked
about
his dad's retirement in Florida, including his succession of boats,
all
named "Flipper" (I, II, and III).
He then told my favorite Dave Gottlieb
story. Alvin said that one
time
after returning to shore from a day of fishing he had a crew man
divide
his day's catch into several packages which he delivered to several
of his
local friends on his way home.
Alvin told us one of the people said to
his dad: "you know there's one
thing I
can't understand Dave. Here you retire
from a successful business
in
Chicago where you made a lot of money and come down here to Florida and
start a
fish route."
Finally, Alvin talked and showed more
pictures of his father's "pet
project"
the Gottlieb Memorial Hospital. He told
us that Dave endowed the
hospital
in 1957. He then said that he raised
over 4 million dollars for
the
hospital, much of it coming from the coin machine industry.
We were then told that the hospital is
still growing and now boasts a
"health
and fitness center". The total
budget for the hospital, Alvin
remarked,
is around 115 million dollars.
Alvin then thanked Rob Berk for inviting
him to speak, also saying he
was
looking forward to attending the 10th anniversary Expo in 1994. Alvin
then
received a healthy round of applause.
When Alvin's talk was over Rob Berk came
back up and presented Alvin
with a
nice plaque. He then introduced the
banquet "head table". Those
seated
there included: Alvin, his good friend Donna Cooper, Expo Exhibit
Hall
Chairman Mike Pacak, Rob's mother, and his girlfriend Bridget.
Next Rob did something he began several
banquets ago. He asked
everybody
there to stand up. He next asked all
first-time Expo attendees
to sit
down, then made the same request of those who had only attended two
Expos. Rob continued this process until only those
of us who had attended
all
nine shows remained standing.
After that little break Rob presented the
awards for Best Exhibit.
Jim
Tolbert and Judy McCrory's FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY booth took top honors
this
year. Steve and Laura Engle's PINBALL
SUPERMARKET (winners of Best
Exhibit
at several past shows) took second place this year.
Rob next thanked Alvin G. and Co. for
allowing the Expo guests to tour
their
pinball plant, presenting a plaque to Michael Gottlieb. He then
thanked
the other pinball manufacturers for participating.
At that point a special event (which also
began several shows ago),
the
nomination of new people to the "Pinball Hall of Fame",
occurred. This
year's
"Hall of Famers" were artist George Molentin and
Williams/Bally/Midway's
Steve Kordek, both of whom were present.
Next Rob presented the award for the best
restored pingame at the
show,
the honor going to Donal Murphy for his 1965 Gottlieb KINGS & QUEENS.
This
was followed by the "Best of Show" award for the pinball art contest.
The
winner was Rob Kleinholter for the very impressive artistic
presentation
he made using mirrors.
Rob then introduced Richard Shapiro from
Louisville who he referred to
as
"professor emeritus". Richard
then asked all the instructors from the
"pinball
school", held the first afternoon of the show, to come up on
stage. These included: Aaron Benidit, Rick Stetta,
Dave Hegge, Michael
Gottlieb,
Julia Slayton, Lyman Sheets, Bob Rosenhaus, Jon Norris, and Dan
McDonald. They received a healthy round of applause.
Next was the prize for the best pinball
costume (banquet attendees
were
asked to dress up to depict their favorite pingame). The winner was a
lady
dressed as ELVIRA.
Following that John Wyatt from the
English Pinball Owner's Association
was
invited up on stage to make the POA's now annual presentation - their
award
for the best new pingame of the past year.
This year they chose Bally's CREATURE
FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, but John
said
their TWILIGHT ZONE came in a close second.
Williams/Bally/Midway's
Director
of Marketing Roger Sharpe and game designer John Trudeau accepted
the
award. They then praised the game's
design team, that drawing a round
of
applause.
At that point show producer Rob Berk let
promoters of other pinball
shows
around the country plug their events.
First was John Bateman to put
in a plug
for the annual New England Pinfest which was in it's third year.
Next was Bruce Carlton telling of the
upcoming 5th year of his Pinball
Show
which is held annually in Scottsdale Arizona.
Finally, Steve Epstein
of the
Broadway Arcade in New York City told of his upcoming 4th annual
Professional/Amateur
Pinball Association (PAPA) tournament.
Rob Berk then came back on stage to thank
his staff, the tournament
scorers,
seminar speakers, etc. for making this show a success. He then
gave a
special tribute/thanks to his co-producer and Exhibit Hall Chairman
Mike
Pacak. Rob then presented his
girlfriend, Bridget Rueben, with a
loving
cup.
It was then time for the raffle. Prizes given away included a tape of
Tim
Arnold's Expo talk, a Premier STREET FIGHTER T-shirt, a Pinball
calculator,
a copy of Dick Bueschel's book ARCADE 1, a subscription to
PinGame
Journal, a reprint of the 1957 Gottlieb Parts Catalog, a pinball
book
from Australia, Expo sweat shirts, and pinball coils from Donal
Murphy.
The grand prizes (2 new pingames!) were
Gottlieb's TEE'D OFF and
Bally's
TWILIGHT ZONE. The latter was won by
Tim Arnold - this quite often
happens
at Expo's due to Tim's purchase of a large majority of the tickets!
Rob Berk next announced that the 1994
edition of Pinball Expo (the
10th
Anniversary of the show!) will be held on November 10 through 13 at
the
same location. He then announced that
the Data East pinball plant
would
be toured that time.
Finally, Rob announced that long-time
Gottlieb designer Wayne Neyens
was
about to celebrate his 75th birthday!
We were then excused to return
to the
Exhibit Hall for some late night visiting and pinball playing.
THE
AUCTION
This year, like last year, a coin machine
auction was held in
conjunction
with Pinball Expo - put on by U.S. Amusement Auctions. The
auction
consisted primarily of pingames, although there were a few juke
boxes,
arcade and video games, bowlers, and even a couple slot machines and
a kiddy
ride.
Here is a sampling of what some of the
older (or more interesting)
pins
sold for:
GAME MANUFACTURER YEAR SELLING PRICE
KILROY Chicago Coin 1947 175
GOLD
CUP (1-BALL) Bally 1948 30
CHAMPION
(1-BALL) Bally 1948 50
DALLAS Williams 1949 305
SHUFFLE
EXPRESS (Shuffle Alley) United 194? 275
TIC-TAC-TOE Williams 1959 325
BIG
DADDY
Williams 1963 270
SAN
FRANCISCO
Williams 1964 170
ALPINE
CLUB Williams 1965 110
SPIN-A-CARD Gottlieb 1969 220
NIP-IT Bally 1972 425
KING
PIN
Gottlieb 1973 210
WIZARD Bally 1974 500
TOP
CARD (Add-A-Ball) Gottlieb 1974 265
SPIN-OUT Gottlieb 1975 150
CAPTAIN
FANTASTIC Bally 1975 525
DRAGON (new in box) Interflip (Spain)
1975 700
SPACE
MISSION
Williams 1976 200
GEMINI Gottlieb 1978 275
HERCULES (giant game) Atari 1979 450
One of the oldest, and more interesting,
games in the auction went for
the
lowest price of the day - $30. This was
Bally's 1-ball horserace
pingame
from 1948, GOLD CUP.
This type of pingame (used primarily as a
gambling device) has
fascinated
me ever since I played one or two as a young teenager on summer
visits
to my mother's birthplace, Memphis Tennessee.
Almost all of this
type of
pin (which started around 1936) had a very similar format.
When a coin was first deposited one (or
occasionally more) of the
seven
(or eight) large numbers on the backglass would light. Along with
that a
set of "odds" (a series of 4 numbers, corresponding to four sections
on the
playfield) would also light.
In order to win the player would have to
get his one ball (hence the
name)
into a hole on the playfield with a number matching the lit number
(called
a "selection") on the backglass.
These holes were grouped into 4
sections
on the playfield, usually labeled PURSE (near the top of the
field),
SHOW, PLACE, and WIN (near the bottom).
If the player succeeded in matching a lit
number he would receive a
number
of replays (or coins if the machine was configured for coin payout -
as many
of these games were) corresponding to the "odds" lit on the
backglass
for the section in which he landed (PURSE, etc.). These games
were
very popular in certain sections of the country (especially in the
South)
until they were virtually outlawed by the passage of the Johnson Act
in
1951.
The GOLD CUP in the auction appeared to
be in fairly good condition,
except
for a peeling backglass, but there appeared to not be much interest
in that
type of game at the auction - a similar game, Bally's CHAMPION,
selling
for only $50. And GOLD CUP met with
what I consider a sad fate.
A friend and I talked to the purchaser
later (a Private Detective, no
less)
who told us he purchased the game in order to scrap all but the
playfield
which he was going to use for a decorative "wall hanging" We
thought
this was a shame, this great old game being relegated to a piece of
artwork,
although the playfield art is quite attractive and very likely was
done by
pinball art great George Molentin.
THE EXHIBIT
HALL
As was the case at all past Expos, the
Exhibit Hall was really the
"center
of activity" of the show. It was
the place where the pin fans
congregated
during the days and nights when it was open, to visit with each
other,
shop for games, literature, and supplies, and of course play
pinball.
As usual there was a wide variety of
pingames, both old and new, for
viewing,
playing, and for sale. In addition to
machines, there were people
selling
parts and literature - people like Steve Young, Donal Murphy, Steve
and
Laura Engle, and Jim Tolbert and Judy McCrory.
And of course there was Exhibit Hall
Chairman Mike Pacak with his
usual
fine assortment of pinball advertising brochures. Pinball magazine
publisher
Jim Schelberg also had a booth where pin fans could subscribe to
his
fine publication, PinGame Journal.
The Exhibit Hall was also the site of the
battery of new pins used in
the
qualifying rounds of the annual Flip-Out pinball tournament. That area
was always
crowded with would-be-wizards trying to get high enough scores
to
compete in the tournament finals.
Since pingames, of course, were the major
items in the hall I will now
give a
brief description of a few of the more interesting older pins
present.
One of earliest pins displayed in the
Exhibit Hall this time was
Genco's
KINGS from 1935. This is one of the
many varied and interesting
pins
put out by this innovative company in that decade.
The theme of this game was another game -
Checkers. The playfield
contained
a good replica of a Checkers board, and the game had a short
light-up
backboard typical of games of that year.
The CHECKERS at the show was in excellent
condition and was sold
almost
immediately. Games of the 1930's, by
the way, have been quite rare
at past
Expos, although there were 5 other 30's pins at this show.
Another beautiful game of that decade at
the show was SIDE KICK from
1938,
produced by Daval. That outfit made a
few pingames, as well as other
coin
machines such as trade stimulators.
The backglass had beautiful Art Deco
artwork (I LOVE Art Deco!), and
the
playfield was the same. That game was
also in excellent condition, but
as far
as I know, did not sell. It should have
- but interest in pre-
flipper
electrical pingames just seems to be low for some reason.
The 1950's fared a little better than the
1930's at this show -
approximately
a dozen pins. One of the nicest pins
there from that decade
was
Gottlieb's GYPSY QUEEN from 1955.
The backglass artwork, most likely by
famed pinball artist Roy Parker,
featured
a gypsy woman holding a gigantic crystal ball which showed the
Aces
and face cards of the four playing card suits.
The playfield of this "rollover
game" featured 3 thumper bumpers, 2
"dead
bumpers", and a host of rollover switches which lit up the cards on
the
backglass. The game's two flippers were
located in a more or less
standard
position near the bottom of the field.
There were also two
"gobble
holes", one of which "spotted" a selected card on the backglass.
This game was also in excellent
condition.
The following is a chronological listing
of all of the pingames for
sale,
play, and viewing in the Exhibit Hall:
CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF PINGAMES
AT EXPO '93
NAME MFG YEAR PRICE
------------------------------ --------------- ----- --------
FIVE
STAR FINAL Gottlieb 1932 300
OFFICIAL Mills 1932 300
KINGS Genco 1935 SOLD
SPIT
FIRE Genco 1935 SOLD
SQUADRON Rockola 1935 ??
GOLDEN
WHEEL (PAYOUT) Bally 1937 1350
SIDE
KICK Daval 1938 375
HIGH
DIVE Gottlieb 1941 200
HUMPTY
DUMPTY Gottlieb 1947 1200
CAROUSEL Keeney
1947 ??
HEAVY
HITTER (BASEBALL) Bally 1948 500
RAINBOW Williams 1948 275
BOWLING
CHAMP Gottlieb 1949 600
ST.
LOUIS Williams 1949 300
THREE
MUSKETEERS Gottlieb 1949 NFS
WILD
WEST Gottlieb 1951 NFS
ATLANTIC
CITY (BINGO) Bally 1952 395
CORONATION Gottlieb 1952 800
QUEEN
OF HEARTS Gottlieb 1952 895
SKILL
POOL Gottlieb 1952 ??
GYPSY
QUEEN Gottlieb 1955 650
STRAIGHT
FLUSH Gottlieb 1957 ??
WORLD
CHAMP Gottlieb 1957 495
ROCKET
SHIP Gottlieb 1958 ??
SUNSHINE
(NO BACKGLASS) Gottlieb 1958 195
AROUND
THE WORLD Gottlieb 1959 ??
MISS
ANNABELLE Gottlieb 1959 400
SEA
WOLF
Williams 1959 ??
BIG
CASINO
Gottlieb 1961 495
FLIPPER
CLOWN (AAB) Gottlieb 1962 300
FLIPPER
COWBOY (AAB) Gottlieb 1962 ??
TROPIC
ISLE Gottlieb 1962 NFS
GIGI Gottlieb 1963 800
HOOTENANNY Bally 1963 NFS
POKER
FACE Keeney 1963 NFS
SLICK
CHICK Gottlieb 1963 600
SWEET
HEARTS Gottlieb 1963 395-600
2-IN-1 Bally 1964 495
MAD
WORLD Bally 1964 NFS
PALOOKA Williams 1964 ??
SEA
SHORE
Gottlieb 1964 NFS
WING
DING (AAB) Williams
1964 425
WORLD
FAIR Gottlieb 1964 450-675
BANK-A-BALL Gottlieb 1965 ??
ICE
REVUE
Gottlieb 1965 ??
KINGS
AND QUEENS Gottlieb 1965 400-1000
SKY-LINE Gottlieb 1965 600
HOT
LINE
Williams 1966 350
KICKER Chicago Coin 1966
??
MAGIC
CITY Williams 1967 500-700
SING
ALONG Gottlieb 1967 350-550
PAUL
BUNYAN Gottlieb 1968 NFS
CARD
TRIX (AAB) Gottlieb 1970 275
MINI
CYCLE Gottlieb 1970 NFS
HIGH
SCORE POOL Chicago
Coin 1971 NFS
ODDS
AND EVENS Bally 1971 ?
NIP
IT Bally 1972 950
WINNER Williams 1972 350 AS IS
JUMPING
JACK Gottlieb 1973 ??
PRO
POOL Gottlieb 1973 200
AIR
ACES Bally 1974 550
CAPTAIN
CARD (AAB) Gottlieb 1974 ??
FREE
FALL (AAB) Gottlieb 1974 >>
HOKUS
POKUS Bally 1975 350
OLD
CHICAGO Bally 1975 700
SPIN
OUT Gottlieb 1975 375
TRIPLE
STRIKE Williams 1975 200
CAPTAIN
FANTASTIC Bally 1976 500-850
GRAND
PRIX Williams 1976 450
NIGHT
RIDER (SS) Bally 1976 600
PLAYBOY Bally 1976 600
ROYAL
FLUSH Gottlieb 1976 ??
SPACE
MISSION Williams 1976 450
SPACE
ODYSSEY Williams 1976 ??
DISCO Stern 1977 200
EIGHT
BALL Bally 1977 600
CLEOPATRA
(SS) Gottlieb
1978 ??
CLOSE
ENCOUNTERS (SS) Gottlieb 1978 200
JOKER
POKER (EM) Gottlieb 1978 ??
JOKER
POKER (SS) Gottlieb 1978 ??
KISS Bally 1978 600-650
NUGENT Stern 1978 ??
SILVER
BALL MANIA Bally 1978 ??
STARS Stern 1978 300
TORCH Gottlieb 1978
200
WORLD
CUP (SS) Williams 1978 450
FUTURE
SPA Bally 1979 ?
GORGAR Williams 1979 695
HOT
HAND Stern 1979 650
SHARPSHOOTER Game Plan 1979
400
SOLAR
RIDE (SS) Gottlieb 1979 ??
XENON Bally 1979 750-795
BIG
GAME Stern 1980 450
BLACKOUT Williams 1980 475
CIRCUS Gottlieb 1980 ??
FATHOM Bally 1980 750
FIREPOWER Williams 1980 475
FLIGHT
2000 Stern
1980 500
SPIDER-MAN
(AMAZING) Gottlieb 1980 600
BLACK
HOLE Gottlieb 1981 300
CAVEMAN Gottlieb 1981 450
CENTAUR Bally 1981 695
JUNGLE
LORD Williams 1981 ??
CENTAUR
II Bally 1982 600
MR. AND
MRS. PAC MAN Bally 1982 390
ORBITOR
I Stern 1982 ??
AMAZON
HUNT Gottlieb 1983 225
KRULL Gottlieb 1983 NFS
PINBALL
CHAMP Zaccaria 1983 600
READY-AIM-FIRE Gottlieb 1983 350
KINGS
OF STEEL Bally 1984 475
SPACE
SHUTTLE Williams 1984 ??
CUE Stern 1984? NFS
FIREBALL
CLASSIC Bally 1985 650-695
ROCK Gottlieb 1985 450/OBO
SORCERER Williams 1985 ??
GOLD
WINGS Gottlieb 1986 495
HIGH
SPEED Williams 1986 995
HOLLYWOOD
HEAT Gottlieb 1986 600
PINBOT Williams 1986 850
RAVEN Gottlieb 1986 495
SPECIAL
FORCE Bally 1986 550
BIG
GUNS Williams 1987 ??
F-14
TOMCAT Williams 1987 ??
LASER
WAR Data East 1987
695
MILLIONAIRE Williams 1987 795
MONTE
CARLO Gottlieb 1987 850
PARTY
ANIMAL Bally 1987 ??
SPRING
BREAK Gottlieb 1987 850
DIAMOND
LADY Gottlieb 1988 ??
ROAD
KINGS Williams 1988 ??
TAXI Williams 1988 ??
BLACK
KNIGHT 2000 Williams 1989 1295
POLICE
FORCE Williams 1989 ??
GOLD
BALL Bally 198? ??
GAME SHOW Bally 1990 1395
PHANTOM
OF THE OPERA Data East 1990
NFS
POOL
SHARKS Bally 1990 ??
RIVERBOAT
GAMBLER Bally 1990 ??
ROLLER
GAMES Williams
1990 ??
GILLIGAN'S
ISLAND Bally 1991 1995
STAR
TREK Data
East 1991 2095
TEENAGE
MUTANT NINJA TURTLES Data East 1991
1595
THE
MACHINE (BRIDE OF PINBOT)
Williams 1991 2150
FISH
TALES Williams 1992 1995
HOOK Data East 1992
2295
LETHAL
WEAPON III Data East 1992
2495
STREET
FIGHTER II Gottlieb 1992 NFS
WORLD
TOUR Alvin G. &
Co. 1992 NFS
INDIANA
JONES Williams 1993 NFS
JUDGE
DREDD Bally 1993 NFS
JURASSIC
PARK Data East 1993 NFS
LAST
ACTION HERO Data
East 1993 NFS
MYSTERY
CASTLE Alvin G. &
Co. 1993 NFS
PUNCHY
THE CLOWN (REDEMPTION) Alvin G. &
Co. 1993 NFS
TEE'D
OFF Gottlieb 1993 NFS
TWILIGHT
ZONE Bally 1993 NFS
Well, there you have it, the final
installment of my coverage of
Pinball
Expo '93 - the 9th Pinball Expo. The
10th Anniversary show has
already
been scheduled for November 10 through 13, 1994. For more
information
call show producers Rob Berk (1-800-323-FLIP) or Mike Pacak (1-
800-321-2722). Hope to see you there!
POST-SCRIPT
Last time I showed a photograph of the
backglass drawing of the
"Design
a Pinball Machine" game from the Expo - for the fictitious game
JOEY
BUTTAFUOCO. At that time I failed to
give credit to the fine artist,
Kai
Bateman, who made the drawing. Great
work Kai!