Share this
Twitter
Myspace
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Slashdot
Furl
Yahoo
Technorati
Newsvine
Facebook
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
TagsBY ERIC MODEL
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
JOURNEYS INTO NEW JERSEY
I recently read a newspaper piece about it being the 30th anniversary of PacMan, that famous arcade game that became an icon of the 1980's popular culture. Upon its release, the game — and, subsequently, PacMan variations became a social phenomenon that sold a bevy of merchandise and also inspired, among other things, an animated television series and a top-ten single .
It all got one to thinking about what has traditionally appealed to kids and kids young at heart as entertainment. In this era of WII, DS and online video games, it may sometimes be hard to fully appreciate, especially for young ones, what it used to be like.
Whether it was a gentler and simpler time is open to debate. Hard to dispute, though, is that it was different.
Back in those olden days, and indeed for decades before there was even PacMan, it was pinball that was the game of choice for idle young hands with excess adrenaline.
Today, after being pushed out of arcades by video games, pinball machines are the province of history buffs and those nostalgic for mechanical marvels.
But there is a place in New Jersey where pinball is king. The Silverball Pinball Museum in Asbury Park is where dozens of classic pinball machines are kept in mint working condition.The museum, which opened last summer and was so popular that it just moved to a larger location on the boardwalk a few months ago, now has some 200 machines.
Placards note each machine's significance in the history of pinballing, as the simple wooden boxes of the 1950s morphed into the electronic monsters of the 1980s before the advent of video changed gaming for good.
Pinball's origins in this land are said to go back to 1869. A British inventor named Montague Redgrave had settled in
America and started manufacturing bagatelle tables out of his factory in Cincinnati.
In 1871 Redgrave was granted US Patent #115,357 for his "Improvements in Bagatelle", which replaced the cue at the player's end of the table with a coiled spring and a plunger. The player shot balls up the inclined playfield using this plunger, a device that remains in pinball to this day.
This innovation made the game friendlier to players. The game also shrank in size and began to fit on top of a bar or counter. The balls became marbles and the wickets became small "pins". Redgrave's innovations in game design are acknowledged as the birth of pinball in its modern form.
During World War II all of the major manufacturing companies in coin-operated games were put into use manufacturing equipment for the American war effort. Some companies like Williams bought old games from operators and refurbished them, adding new artwork with a patriotic theme.
By the end of the war, a generation of Americans looked for amusement in their bars and malt shops. Pinball saw another golden age of growth. Innovations such as the tilt mechanism and free games (known as replays) appeared.
The post-war era was dominated by the game-maker Gottlieb (formerly D. Gottlieb). Game designer Wayne Neyens along with artist Leroy Parker turned out game after game that collectors consider some of the most classic pinball machines ever designed. The most famous were designed by James Rider, the man behind the epitomized catchphrase "I've got it", amongst others.
Gottlieb's Humpty Dumpty, introduced in 1947, was the first game to add player-controlled flippers to keep the ball in play longer and added a skill factor to the game. The low power of the Humpty Dumpty flippers necessitated that three pairs be placed around the playfield in order to get the ball to the top.
Back in Asbury Park at the Silverball Museum, one will find a place that is home to 120 classic pinball machines. But unlike most museums, the Silverball is hands on. A 10-dollar pass will get you an hour of time on the post popular vintage machines — some dating back to 1933. Some of them belong to the museum's permanent collection. Others are shopped, obtained, loaned or consigned to the museum.
Interestingly, museum owner Rob Ilvento only got into pinball a few years ago when he noticed that his autistic daughter could keep herself occupied through the game. What started with one game for his daughter soon became 3, 10 and up.
He now has over 220 machines and continues to acquire a more at a pace of a couple a week.
Some of the names to be found include the likes of "Cow Pow", "EM", "Evel Kneivel" and what is promoted as "98 or so other classics primarily from the 60's and 70's. Since the museum's capacity is maxed out at 182 machines, Ilvento and his staff rotate the games in and out of the museum.
One might think that it would be mainly an older crowd turning up at the Silverball — those familiar with the games to whom the trip to the museum would be something of a nostalgic pilgrimage. But they say that a good amount of those visiting are too young to remember but who find the appeal of these pinball games.
It's a unique place that befits the unique role that pinball occupies in our popular imagination. Along the Boardwalk, it looks and feels just where it should be.
By the way, if you have not been in the neighborhood for a while, you may be surprised by how much there is to see in do in Asbury Park and surrounds these days. It's definitely worth a trip — pinballs and more. Info: Silverball Pinball Museum, 1000 Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park; (732) 774-4994; http://silverballmuseum.com.
Eric Model explores the "offbeat, off the beaten path overlooked and forgotten" on SIRIUS-XM Radio and at journeysinto.com.
