The History of Pinball

Photo: © 2011 Eric Kantor  Old SledWorks, Duncannon, PA

To learn “hands on” about the game, go to a Pinball Museum near you and play games from all eras. Be sure to check websites and email or call them for hours of operation.

• Old Sledworks Penny Arcade
  722 North Market Street
  Duncannon, PA.17020
  717-834-9333
  E-mail: sledworks@aol.com
  
• National Pinball Museum
  608 Water Street
  Baltimore, MD 21202
   443.438.1241
  Administrative Office: 614 Cannon Road, Silver Spring, MD 20904
  www.nationalpinballmuseum.org
  inquiries@nationalpinballmuseum.org
• Silver Ball Museum
  1000 Ocean Ave, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
  732-774-4994
  E-mail: info@silverballmuseum.com
• Pacific Pinball Museum
  Alameda, CA 94501
  510-769-1349 or 510-205-6959
  E-mail: info@pacificpinball.org
  
• The Pinball Hall of Fame
  1610 E. Tropicana
  Las Vegas NV 89119
  (702) 434-9746
  E-mail: pinballhalloffame@msn.com
• Pinball Parlour
  2 Addington Street
  Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 9JL, England
  Open weekends 1pm to 6pm
  07966 217295 or 07930 326008
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bd86DrtTvo&feature=player_embedded#
• Pinball Museum France
  E-mail: raphael-lankar@wanadoo.fr
• Extraball — The German Pinball Machine Museum
  Deutsches Flippermuseum e.V.
  Hermannstr. 9 / 56564 Neuwied, Germany
  Tel / Fax: +49-2631-358183
  E-mail: info@ flippermuseum.eu
• Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
  31005 Orchard Lake Road
  Farmington Hills, MI 48334
  248-626-5020
  E-mail: marvin@marvin3m.com
• Seattle Pinball Museum
  508 Maynard Ave S
  Seattle/Chinatown/ID
  E-mail: Fishbeadtwo@comcast.net
• Pinball Museum-Lone Star Pinball Association
  35222 Hempstead Highway
  Hockley, TX 77447
  936-372-2607
  E-mail: lspa@wantabe.com
• Playland-Not-at-the-Beach?
  10979 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530.
  (800) 548-5318 Ext. 16
  E-mail: frank@playland-not-at-the-beach.org
• The Sands Mechanical Museum
  165 2 Kennewick Drive
  Sunnyvale, California 94087
  E-mail: slinger@sandsmuseum.com
  408-773-1170
• The Musee Mecanique
  Pier 45 Shed A at the end of Taylor Street
  Fisherman's Wharf
  San Francisco, CA 94133
  (415) 346-2000
  E-mail: coad01@yahoo.com
  

The History of Pinball - Videos

• PAPA and Pinball.org have teamed with a pinball video database

• Pinball Hall of Fame
  In this video, Tim Arnold of the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas gives an oral history of the pinball machine’s innovation and manufacturing.

• Pinheads - The Story of the Pacific Pinball Museumseum/

The History of Pinball – Websites

• Pinball Collectors Resource, by Don Mueting and Rob Hawkins    

• Popular Mechanics: Top 17 Science-Fiction-Themed Pinball Machines
  Today, pinball may seem like a harmless, all-American pastime. But the game's history — from its rebellious roots to its nerdy present — is more bizarre than most people would imagine.

• Classic Pinball
  Kevin McHugh from Classic Pinball in NJ shows many different pinball games in this video.
  
• Russ Jensen's Pinball History Page
  A website featuring articles on the fascinating history of the wonderful amusement device  known as the "pinball machine." Topics include: Evolution of the Bumper, The Evolution of the Flipper, Pingames and Gambling, and Pinball Dating. (Year the pinball machine was manufactured)  Mr. Jensen passed away in 2007.
  
• Pinball history and information
  Taru Hartikka's website from Finland contains her notes translated into English on pinball history and the games evolution.
  
• Pre-War Pinball 
  A website devoted to the collecting and restoring of pre-1948 pinball machines known as flipperless pinball.
  
• The History of Pinball
  In 1871, British inventor, Montegue Redgrave was granted US Patent #115,357 for his "Improvements in Bagatelle".
  
• Rediscovering the Classic American Game of Pinball
  If you haven't played pinball in a while, it's time to find a local arcade that still has a sense of history, fish out some quarters, and get ready for seriously good times.
  
• Pinnovations
  Terry Cumming’s pinball website, featuring historians, nostalgia, people and manufacturers, pinball and WW2, old photos of games and arcades; All aboard the 1930s Genco train!
  
•  Pinball Hall of Fame
  Tim Arnold of the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas gives an oral history of the pinball machine’s innovation and manufacturing. The interview was shot at Tim’s Pinball Hall of Fame in 2007.
  
• The Pinball Story by Paul Dean 
  A gamer’s website with a special section devoted to the history of the “silver ball”.
  
• The Penny Arcade
  This website by Wayne Namerow features historic examples of pinball and arcade machines.
  
• Popular Mechanics
  Top 8 Most Innovative Pinball Machines of All Time
  

Internet Podcasts

The Silverball Podcast
Rob Craig and Steve Rothschild host The Silverball Podcast, covering topics for collectors and enthusiasts of pinball and coin-op video games.

TOPcast - This Old Pinball's Online Podcast
Clay Harrell interviews the people who are the movers and shakers of the pinball industry: artists, authors, collectors, designers, historians, manufacturers and software programmers. The website offers free downloads of past shows. 

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