In 1931 David Gottlieb's Baffle Ball became the first hit of the coin-operated era. In 1932, Gottlieb distributor Ray Moloney found it hard to obtain more Baffle Ball units to sell. In his frustration he founded Lion Manufacturing to produce a game of his own design, Ballyhoo, named after a popular magazine of the day. The game became a smash hit. Its larger playfield and ten pockets made it more challenging than Baffle Ball, selling 50,000 units in 7 months.[2] Moloney eventually changed the name of his company to Bally to reflect the success of this game. These early machines were relatively small, mechanically simple and designed to sit on a counter or bar top.Electrification also helped brought major popularity to the game.A company called Pacific Amusements in Los Angeles, USA produced a game called Contact in 1933. Contact had an electrically powered solenoid to propel the ball out of a bonus hole in the middle of the playfield. Another solenoid rang a bell to reward the player.[3]Electric lights soon became a standard feature of all subsequent pinball games, designed to attract players.By the end of 1932, there were approximately 150 companies manufacturing pinball machines, most of them in
In 1931 David Gottlieb's Baffle Ball became the first hit of the coin-operated era. In 1932, Gottlieb distributor Ray Moloney found it hard to obtain more Baffle Ball units to sell. In his frustration he founded Lion Manufacturing to produce a game of his own design, Ballyhoo, named after a popular magazine of the day. The game became a smash hit. Its larger playfield and ten pockets made it more challenging than Baffle Ball, selling 50,000 units in 7 months.[2] Moloney eventually changed the name of his company to Bally to reflect the success of this game. These early machines were relatively small, mechanically simple and designed to sit on a counter or bar top.Electrification also helped brought major popularity to the game.A company called Pacific Amusements in Los Angeles, USA produced a game called Contact in 1933. Contact had an electrically powered solenoid to propel the ball out of a bonus hole in the middle of the playfield. Another solenoid rang a bell to reward the player.[3]Electric lights soon became a standard feature of all subsequent pinball games, designed to attract players.By the end of 1932, there were approximately 150 companies manufacturing pinball machines, most of them in