Gridiron

Gridiron, released by Chicago's Genco Manufacturing Company in December 1934, is an early electro-mechanical football-themed pin game designed by Harvey Heiss. It has an unusual origin story: Gridiron is actually a reissue of Genco's own 1934 'Goal-Kick', renamed — according to the Encyclopedia of Pinball — because the original name met with poor acceptance.

The game offered remarkable value for Depression-era players: ten balls for one cent. Its playfield packs in 23 trap holes, 5 cellar holes, and 3 kickers, with five playfield holes feeding the ball to the kickers. Those kickers were 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 back into play — an advanced mechanism for 1934.

The upper playfield features an area enclosed by two elevated L-shaped rails containing six trap holes and the game's name, and surviving examples show at least three different configurations of flags and ball guides in this area, some likely the work of operators modifying games in the field. These variations, along with its reissue history, make Gridiron a rewarding study for collectors of 1930s Genco games.