Golden Gloves
About This Machine
The Golden Gloves pinball machine, manufactured by Chicago Coin Machine Manufacturing Company in July 1949, is an engaging boxing-themed game from the first years of the flipper era. Its two impulse flippers - an early flipper variant - arrived just two years after flippers were first introduced to pinball, and the game offered five balls for five cents.
The playfield is packed with period features: two pop bumpers, ten tower bumpers, a kick-out hole, and an Action Ring in the upper playfield. The heart of the game is spelling G-O-L-D-E-N G-L-O-V-E-S on the six lettered tower bumpers in the lower playfield, which lights the upper playfield side lanes for Special; the last lit bumper pays ten times its normal value and lights the kick-out hole for an Extra Special. The two rollover lanes at the top can likewise pay a tenfold bonus if either one completes the full name. Scoring runs to an impressive displayed maximum of 5,999,000 points, with a replay wheel that registers up to 47 replays and two bells providing the soundtrack.
A period article in The Billboard from August 1949 confirmed the game was in production that summer, and its playfield layout invites comparison with Chicago Coin's Football from the same year. As a colorful artifact of pinball's early flipper years and of boxing's mid-century popularity, Golden Gloves rewards a closer look.
Images (45)
Technical Details
- Theme:
- Sports - Boxing
- Notable Features:
- 5 balls for 5 cents. Impulse flippers (2), Pop bumpers (2), Tower bumpers (10), Kick-out hole (1). Action Ring in upper playfield. Spelling GOLDEN GLOVES in the six lower playfield tower bumpers lights upper playfield side lanes for Special. Four other tower bumpers each have a large daisy bumper cap on top and are surrounded by a rubber ring. No slingshots. Maximum displayed point score is 5,999,000 points. Replay wheel maximum: 47 Sound: 2 bells At start of game, the six tower bumpers GO-LD-EN GL-OV-ES are lit while the two daisy passive bumpers and the four daisy tower bumpers are not lit. The two pop bumpers (upper playfield center) score 10,000 points, or 100,000 when lit. The two daisy passive bumpers score 10,000 points, or 100,000 when lit. The four daisy tower bumpers score 10,000 points, or 50,000 when lit. The kick-out hole scores 200 points, or Extra Special when lit. The two pop bumpers are lit at start of game. They turn off when the score reaches any odd multiple of 100,000 points and turn on when the score reaches any even multiple of 100,000 points. Hitting GO turns it off and lights bottom left daisy tower bumper. Hitting LD turns it off and lights middle left daisy tower bumper. Hitting EN turns it off and lights top left daisy passive bumper. Hitting GL turns it off and lights top right daisy passive bumper. Hitting OV turns it off and lights middle right daisy tower bumper. Hitting ES turns it off and lights bottom right daisy tower bumper. The six bumpers GO-LD-EN GL-OV-ES are not tracked on the backglass and always award 50,000 points each, whether lit or not, except the last lit one to be hit awards 500,000 points (10 times its normal amount) that one time only, and lights the kick-out hole for Extra Special. The upper left rollover lane scores 50,000 points and simultaneously turns off all three bumpers GO-LD-EN. The upper right rollover lane scores 50,000 points and simultaneously turns off all three bumpers GL-OV-ES. If either rollover completes the entire name GO-LD-EN GL-OV-ES, that rollover awards 500,000 points (10 times its normal amount) that one time only, and lights the kick-out hole for Extra Special.