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Pinball History
Flippers: The Piece de la ResistenceWith the addition of automatic scoring, a quasi form of pinball machine that became popular in the mid 1930's were baseball-themed machines. A solenoid powered bat was used to hit a pitched ball across the playfield to score runs. These batting mechanisms were the forerunner of the pinball flipper. D. Gottlieb & Co.'s 1947 "Humpty Dumpty" was the first pinball machine to use flippers. Invented by Harry Mabs, the machine had six flippers - three to a side. This innovation gave players the ability for the first time to keep the ball in play and added a considerable measure of skill to playing pinball. The marketing slogan for Humpty Dumpty immodestly announced that its "Sensationally New Player Flipper Bumpers" were the "Greatest Triumph in Pin Game History", and yet history proved the slogan right. The flipper for all time transformed the playability, excitement, and fun of playing pinballs and remains its single most important feature. The repositioning of the flippers at the bottom of the pinball playing field is credited to that legend of pinball lore, Steve Kordek, who was employed in the pinball industry for 63 years. As the story is told, Mr. Kordek was assigned the responsibility for designing the playfield for the 1948 Genco game "Triple Action." However, his budget only allowed him to use two electrically powered flippers and he ended up placing them in their now classic position at the bottom of the machine. It is worth noting that these early flippers operated in the reverse direction of those used now, one button operated both flippers, and the flippers could not be held up by continuously pressing the flipper button. Subsequent pinball machines reversed the action of the flipper to the standard used today, allowed players to control the flippers independently, and allowed players to capture the ball with the flippers by keeping the button pressed in. Other pinball firsts created by Mr. Kordek over the years included the first simultaneous play of multiple balls "multiball" on the playfield (William's Beat The Clock, 1963), and the drop target (William's Vagabond, 1963). When asked at the 2002 Pinball Expo in Chicago , Illinois , how he dreamed up the idea for the drop target, Mr. Kordek simply replied, "Who's to say how one comes up with an idea. It just comes to you and you see if it can make it work." The remaining history of pinball is one of evolution rather than revolution. More flippers were added throughout the years with Gottliebs 1982 "Haunted House" winning the award with eight flippers. Haunted House was also the first game to have with three playing fields (an upper and lower field in addition to the main playing field) and the first vertical ball 'upkicker", invented by John Osborne. Scoring evolved from the "totalizer" to mechanical scoring reels, to digital. With the advent of digital technology came sound and then digital LED displays with moving pictures. The Williams Company's attempt to merge pinball with video was a great step forward with its Revenge From Mars and Star Wars games. Alas, this novel effort disappeared with the company's decision to go out of business. Stern Pinball today remains the only pinball manufacturer still in existence. And yet in recent years it has produced some of the most fun games ever built. May it continue to manufacture and advance this most fun form of entertainment for years to come.
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