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Pall-mall -

Pinball evolved from a number of outdoor games popular in the 17th century, including bowls, golf, and pall-mall (pictured).

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Billiards -

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.

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Bagatelle -

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.

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Precursor of the pinball machine -

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.

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Pinball patent -

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.

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The pinball machine arrives! -

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.

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Pinball as a game -

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.

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Pinball banned! -

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.

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Playing out elsewhere -

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.

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Collector's item -

The now super rare "Jack and Jill" pinball machine was made by Gottlieb in 1948.

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Bank-it -

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."

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Flippers are introduced -

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.

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Colorful graphic design -

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.

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"Shoo Shoo" -

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.

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"Frontiersman" -

In 1952, David Gottlieb introduced the "Frontiersman," a design influenced by the frontier spirit and the great outdoors.

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"Broadway" -

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.

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Courting controversy -

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.

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Pins in movie scenes -

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.

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'Bad Day at Black Rock' (1955) -

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.

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'Bus Stop' (1956) -

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.

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'Tommy' (1975) -

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."

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Fashionable photo prop -

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.

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Pinball auction -

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.

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Play with the Harlem Globetrotters -

The graphics are often bright and colorful on all pinball machines, and help attract players to play the game.

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Star quality -

The faces of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover peer up from the game board of this 'Lethal Weapon 3' pinball machine.

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End of an era? Not quite -

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?

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