Was Pinball Illegal? Facts Revealed!!

Bright lights flash as a silver ball ricochets around the playfield, careening off bumpers and slingshots. The player mashes the flipper buttons, struggling to keep the ball in play. Then, a loud knock signals defeat—the ball has drained. Just another day playing pinball… or at least nowadays.

But there was a time in 20th century America when you could be arrested just for possessing a pinball machine.

Pinball wasn’t always a benign arcade amusement. In fact, for over 30 years pinball was outright banned in major cities across the United States.

So what happened? When did pinball become illegal? And how did it make an unlikely comeback?

In this blog post, we’ll explore pinball’s hidden history and find out how it went from public enemy #1 to beloved American pastime.

A Brief History of Pinball Machines

Before we dig into why pinball was banned, it helps to understand what pinball is and how it evolved.

Pinball machines descend from primitive spring-loaded tabletop games popularized in Europe as early as the 17th and 18th centuries . These precursors to modern pinball were based purely on luck and physics, with no flippers or player control.

The first coin-operated machines appeared in 1931, allowing businesses to profit from customers playing. But gameplay was still uncontrolled beyond physically tilting the unit.

That changed in October 25, 1947 when Gottlieb’s Humpty Dumpty introduced the first flippers. Flippers allowed players to keep the ball in play longer through skillful maneuvering. Now there was a real game of reflexes and hand-eye coordination!

Over the next decades, pinball machines advanced with digital displays, electronic scoring, buzzers, music, and elaborate visual designs. What started as a novelty distraction had become big flashy business.

But this path to mass acceptance was far from linear…

Pinball Machines Associated with Gambling and Crime

During pinball’s rise in the 1930s, most machines were indeed used explicitly for gambling.

Owners would pay out prizes like money, cigars, drinks or simply more games. Unsurprisingly, this attracted corruption and the involvement of organized crime syndicates.

The gambling angle also meant pinball held strong association with bars, saloons and seedy establishments. Kids would skip school to fuel their pinball addiction, stealing lunch money to satisfy arcade owners.

With America struggling through the Great Depression, politicians saw pinball as an immoral waste of money and metal. But prohibiting alcohol had failed spectacularly a decade earlier. Could banning pinball really stop its influence?

Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia’s War on Pinball

For Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia of New York City, smashings pinballs wasn’t just a publicity stunt—it was a moral imperative.

LaGuardia saw pinball as spreading gambling and juvenile delinquency. With the 1933 end of Prohibition, he needed a new vice target…and the popular pinball provided a perfect scapegoat.

After Pearl Harbor in 1941, LaGuardia’s anti-pinball campaign gained more ammunition. The mayor argued vital war materials like copper and steel were being squandered on frivolous games.

“It is infinitely preferable that the metal in these evil contraptions be manufactured into arms and bullets,” LaGuardia wrote.

On January 21, 1942, the New York City Council approved LaGuardia’s proposed ban on pinball machines. Just over two weeks later on February 5th, police began smashing games with sledgehammers before dumping the remains into the rivers.

With over 2,000 machines destroyed, LaGuardia had fired the first volley in the war against pinball…but the battle was just beginning.

Other Major Cities Outlaw Pinball Machines

New York City set a precedent quickly copied elsewhere. Cities were still reeling financially from the Depression, and cracking down on petty gambling provided positive PR.

Chicago, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and New Orleans were among those enacting bans by 1942. Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and smaller towns followed over the next decades.

Ostensibly these bans were to shield children and cut ties with the mafia. But practically they often served to drive payola underground while fostering corruption in plain sight.

Total prohibition lasted over 1920 to 1933 in many areas. Kids still played pinball illicitly while legitimate operators went out of business. Clearly the attempted bans were failures all around.

But the occasional high-profile arrest still made headlines…until one case brought the whole charade crashing down.

Roger Sharpe Fights to Legalize Pinball

By the 1970s, changing values and economics wore away support for keeping pinball illegal. New York City especially wanted to reap profits from licensing coin-op devices.

But the long-standing bans had inertia on their side. That’s where Roger Sharpe entered the picture.

Sharpe was a young writer hired by the Amusement and Music Operators Association (AMOA) to challenge the NYC ban. His skills were legendary in pinball circles. Could he now convince the law?

In April 1976, Sharpe walked into a Manhattan courtroom with a Gottlieb pinball machine. Watched by police, the press, and pinball fans alike, he proceeded to control the ball with masterful flips and nudges.

“If I pull the plunger back just right, the ball will, I hope, go down this particular lane,” Sharpe proclaimed. He then executed the trick shot perfectly, just as predicted.

This impressive display of talent swayed the City Council that pinball indeed required skill. They voted to overturn the ban, legalizing pinball in NYC after 34 years of prohibition!

Sharpe single-handedly revived pinball from its maligned outcast status back into mainstream amusement. As bans fell nationwide, the industry exploded with creativity and competition.

Pinball was legal once more! But could it compete with an even larger threat looming from video games?

Pinball Machines Make a Comeback

Just as pinball rebounded from illegality, the rising popularity of arcade video games posed an existential crisis.

Space Invaders and Pac Man lured players away with flashy graphics and rapid on-screen action pinball struggled to match. By 1988, only two prominent pinball companies remained: Williams and Data East.

But the pinball industry wouldn’t go down without a fight. Licensing blockbuster films like Addams Family brought renewed interest, along with movie-quality sound, animations and toys integrated into machines.

After mergers and acquisitions, one legendary brand emerged: Stern Pinball, leading pinball manufacturing today.

While Stern keeps classic machines alive, new competitors like Jersey Jack Pinball and Spooky Pinball attrat modern gamers with innovative features and pop culture themes.

Pinball has benefitted from the same technological advances that nearly doomed it in the 80s. Color displays, computerized logic boards, and clever designs make modern pinball a desirable pastime for nostalgic adults and kids discovering it for the first time.

Few would guess this quintessentially American arcade staple was once so controversial. But love it or hate it, pinball has persisted thanks to dedicated fans and skillful players like Roger Sharpe.

So next time you see a flashing pinball cabinet, appreciate not just the kinetic artwork in front of you, but the rich hidden history behind it!