Gusher

Gusher, released by Williams on September 11, 1958, is a single-player electro-mechanical pinball machine designed by company founder Harry Williams, with artwork by George Molentin. Its theme celebrates the boom-time imagery of affluence, automobiles, and oil wells that captured post-war America's growing prosperity.

The playfield is generously equipped: two flippers, three pop bumpers, four passive bumpers, two slingshots, eight standup targets, three kick-out holes, and a gobble hole. Its claim to fame, however, is a genuine first in pinball: Gusher was the first machine to have a disappearing jet bumper, which lowers into the playfield so that its cap becomes part of the playfield surface — a striking mechanical effect entirely in keeping with the game's oil-well theme.

Factory records add an interesting footnote for historians: the manufacturer's original playfield drawing is dated September 1957 and initialed HEW, and a blueprint copy shows Harry Mabs in an engineering-manager role on the project, though Harry Williams remains credited as the game's designer.