The History of Pinball

Unsung History

In January 1942, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia sent New York City police out on an important mission; their objective: to find and destroy tens of thousands of pinball machines. But some of pinball’s most important innovations, including the development of flippers, happened in the decades that it was banned in New York and many other US cities. This week we dig in to the fun – and sometimes surprising – history of pinball.

Joining me in this episode is illustrator and cartoonist Jon Chad, author of Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball. I’m also joined by a special guest co-host, my son, Teddy.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “Caterpillar,” by Gvidon, available for use under the Pixabay content license. The episode image is “Playing the pinball machine at the steelworkers' Serbian Club in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania,” photographed by Jack Delano, 1941, Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives.

Additional Sources:

• “The Backstory: The Comte d’Artois, pinball’s original wizard, lived life at full tilt,” by By Brendan Kiley, Pacific NW Magazine, December 1, 2019.
• “The Human Side of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette,” by Joe McGasko, biography.com, October 14, 2020.
• “Bagatelle patent model patented by Montague Redgrave,” Smithsonian.
• “Baffle Ball,” The Internet Pinball Database Presents.
• “Bally MFG Company, est. 1932,” by Andrew Clayman, Made in Chicago Museum.
• “That Time America Outlawed Pinball,” by Christopher Klein, History.com, Originally published November 15, 2016, and updated October 5, 2023.
• “How the Mob Made Pinball Public Enemy #1 in the 1940s,” by Allison McNearney, Daily Beast, November 14, 2021.
• “Chicago once waged a 40-year war on pinball,” by Ryan Smith, Chicago Reader, May 5, 2018.
• “How One Perfect Shot Saved Pinball From Being Illegal,” by Matt Blitz, Gizmodo, August 16, 2013.
• “‘These Things Are Works of Art’: Chicago’s History as the Manufacturing Center for Pinball Machines,” by Meredith Francis, WTTW Chicago, January 26, 2024.
• “An Industry Suffers as Few People Play a Mean Pinball Anymore,” Washington Post, July 30, 2000.
• “Inside America's Last Great Pinball Factory,” by Peter Rugg, Popular Mechanics, March 27, 2017.
• “The Inside Story of Pinball's Renaissance,” by Mike Mahardy, IGN, May 20, 2017.
• “A Look At The Unlikely Resurgence Of Pinball In The Mobile Age [video],” NBC News, October 1, 2017.
• Pinball Map

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands