Mounting deaths and destruction paint a horrific landscape
Pinball evolved from a number of outdoor games popular in the 17th century, including bowls, golf, and pall-mall (pictured).
These ball games eventually ended up indoors and played on tables, such as billiards. In the 1674 version pictured, six bags were used and only two balls, with a croquet hoop called a port used to strike the balls.
In France during the late 17th century, indoor billiard tables were being narrowed, a design inspired by the bowling green. Eventually a new game was invented featuring a slender table and cue sticks, which players used to shoot ivory balls up an inclined playfield. It was named bagatelle, after the Château de Bagatelle where it made its debut in 1777 in front of Louis XVI. French soldiers took the game to America, where they helped fight the British in the American Revolutionary War. Bagatelle became so popular that a 1864 political cartoon depicts President Lincoln playing at the table around which are George McClellan, George Pendleton, General Ulysses. S Grant, Andrew Johnson, and Clement Vallandigham.
It was an English-American designer named Montague Redgrave (1844–1934) who bridged the gap between table bagatelle and pinball. In 1871, he patented the first game that resembled pinball, which used a spring launcher to catapult the marble up the table. By the early 1930s, coin-operated versions of bagatelles had been introduced. In fact, new nickel-in-the-slot games like the table billiards game shown in the photograph quickly gained an eager audience.
In 1931, David Gottlieb's "Baffle Ball" became the first hit of the coin-operated era, and established Gottlieb as the first major manufacturer of pinball machines. But he was not without competition. Raymond Moloney invented the "Bally Hoo" pinball machine the same year, and named his company Bally after the success of the machine.
By the mid-1930s, electrification and active bumpers were introduced, with a game called "Contact" the leading player. It was designed by Harry Williams, who became another pinball pioneer after setting up his own company in 1941. Pictured is an amusement arcade in Times Square in New York in the late 1930s.
But then the unthinkable happened: New York City authorities banned pinball machines, believing they promoted gambling. Pictured in 1949 is the New York Police Commissioner himself, William O'Brien, personally attending to the destruction of a pinball machine, which had been dubbed a "one-armed bandit." The cops smashed 2,259 of the machines, which had been confiscated on various raids and gathered in a garage.
Elsewhere in the United States, however, pinball machines thrived. In this image, sailors amuse themselves at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Waikiki Beach. The hotel had been leased by the Navy for officers and men on leave, and had installed several machines for general use.
In 1964, pinballs fell foul of the law once again. A machine even ended up in court in Denver, Colorado as evidence in a case (pictured), with the prosecution arguing that the machine was a gambling device. Its owner, Modern Music Co., said it wasn't. Similar cases presented themselves across America, where machines were deemed subject to tax.
Pinball machines are often used as props in fashion and promotional photographs. Here's Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke, Jimmy Destri, and Nigel Harrison of Blondie posing for a portrait by a pinball machine in 1978.
Considering the heavy-handed stance taken by New York's finest in banning pinballs, this 1950 advertisement for a pinball style bank is ironic to say the least. It reads "Play For Fun—Save For The Future."
The 1950s saw pinball machine graphic design increasingly draw on popular culture for inspiration. The glamour associated with Hollywood was a favorite theme. So too was America's carnival and theatrical heritage.
This film is based on the rock opera album 'Tommy' (1969) by the Who, which centers on Roger Daltrey's character who becomes a "pinball wizard."
Elton John included a rare "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" pinball machine by Bally among personal items he put up for auction in 1988.
Bagatelle's popularity endured for many years. Pictured is a English factory worker in 1932 at his work station hammering nails into a bagatelle board. The bagatelle board game was played with marbles and is regarded as the precursor of the universal pinball machines found in amusement arcades all over the world.
The "Shoo Shoo" pinball machine, made by Harry Williams in 1950, used a play on words do describe the three pinup girls wearing their new shoes on a circus stage.
Raymond Moloney's Bally company came up with the "Broadway" pinball machine in the late 1950s, which paid homage to New York's theatrical district.
In 1952, David Gottlieb introduced the "Frontiersman," a design influenced by the frontier spirit and the great outdoors.
In 1947, player-controlled flippers were introduced, which were used to keep the ball in play for longer. The first mechanical flippers appeared on Gottlieb's historically important "Humpty Dumpty" pinball. Flippers were invented by a guy called Harry Mabs.
The interior of an 'Iron Man' pinball machine in the midst of assembly at Stern Pinball in Chicago in 2011. Stern is the only remaining pinball maker in the world, and tends to specialize in custom-built units.
Sources: (Britannica) (Casetext) (Pingeek)
See also: Since when do we play board games?
Pinball machines have appeared in numerous movies over the years, either as central component of the script, or in background scenes. Here, Sophia Loren's character in 'Two Women' (1960) is playing a "Jigsaw" pin manufactured by Williams in 1957.
In the Blue Dragon Cafe scene in 'Bus Stop,' Marilyn Monroe is cornered by Don Murray against a "Black Gold" pin, made by Genco in 1949.
The faces of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover peer up from the game board of this 'Lethal Weapon 3' pinball machine.
The now super rare "Jack and Jill" pinball machine was made by Gottlieb in 1948.
The graphics are often bright and colorful on all pinball machines, and help attract players to play the game.
The pinball machine originated in its present form in the early 1930s, but it evolved from an obscure board game invented in the late 18th century called a bagatelle. By the 1940s, pinball had become one of the most popular games in America, and featured regularly in popular culture. In the late 20th century, electronic games largely diminished the appeal of pinball, but machines are still being manufactured and played by a new generation of pinball wizards.
Click through and flip, bump, kick, and spin your way through the history of the pinball.
Look closely at this movie still featuring Spencer Tracy and Ernest Borgnine. In the background you can see a guy playing a "Follies of 1940" pin made by Genco in 1939.
The pinball and its place in popular culture
The pin is still making a scene
LIFESTYLE Games
The pinball machine originated in its present form in the early 1930s, but it evolved from an obscure board game invented in the late 18th century called a bagatelle. By the 1940s, pinball had become one of the most popular games in America, and featured regularly in popular culture. In the late 20th century, electronic games largely diminished the appeal of pinball, but machines are still being manufactured and played by a new generation of pinball wizards.
Click through and flip, bump, kick, and spin your way through the history of the pinball.