Goal-Kick

Goal-Kick, manufactured by Genco in November 1934, is an early electro-mechanical pin game from the first years of powered pinball features. Designed by Harvey Heiss around a football theme, it is a testament to the innovative spirit of Genco's engineers during pinball's formative era.

The gameplay is both challenging and entertaining. Players receive ten balls for five cents, and the playfield offers 23 trap holes and 5 cellar holes to navigate, while three kickers provide opportunities for exciting action. Five playfield holes feed the ball to the kickers, mechanisms Genco used under license from the Pacific Amusement Manufacturing Company, which held the patent on a device that elevated a ball from under the playfield and propelled it. A distinctive touch: one of the ten balls is copper-colored.

Goal-Kick has an interesting footnote in pinball history. According to the Encyclopedia of Pinball Vol. 2, the game was reissued later in 1934 as Genco's 'Gridiron' because the name 'Goal-Kick' was poorly received. That bit of rebranding, along with its licensed kicker mechanism, makes it a fascinating piece for collectors and enthusiasts of pre-flipper pinball.