Gridiron

Gridiron — known internally at Williams as "Gridiron II" — is a solid-state bat game designed by Joe Kaminkow with artwork by Constantino and Jeanine Mitchell, developed in 1984 on the Williams System 8 platform. Its claim to fame is bittersweet: it was never produced. It uses the same playfield layout as Williams' 1969 electro-mechanical 'Gridiron' (Model 376), with three outfield scoring pockets added.

The design itself was inventive. Seven hanging targets populate the playfield, and an electromagnet under the playfield enabled three different styles of pitching the ball. A bell rings when credits are added and a crowd cheers for touchdowns. In a fun period touch, the playfield carries advertisements for three other Williams products: 1984's 'Laser Cue' pinball, the 1984 video game Mystic Marathon, and the 1983 shuffle alley Triple Strike.

After its debut at the AMOA show, Williams released 150 dedicated units and 10 conversion kits (for Pennant Fever) to purchasing, with production scheduled to begin December 17, 1984. Just three days after that date, on December 20, 1984, the entire production was canceled — according to former Williams executive Ken Fedesna, the game would have arrived too late in the football season, with units not finished until after the season ended. Only prototypes were ever built, making surviving examples, such as the documented prototype serial 538X22005, genuine rarities.