Bally Derby

The Bally Derby is a pioneering electro-mechanical one-ball payout machine that embodies the spirit of innovation that defined the early days of coin-op gaming. Produced by Bally Manufacturing Corporation with a documented release-to-production date of December 9, 1935, this horse racing-themed game was designed by Bon MacDougall, who brought its signature feature with him from his previous employer, Pacific Amusement Manufacturing Company.

At the heart of the Bally Derby lies its 'Odds and Payout' system. The machine dispenses nickels when a skill shot lands in a playfield hole, with the amount determined by the changing odds shown on the backglass - Bally's first use of a feature MacDougall had introduced on the playfield of PAMCO's 1935 'Pamco Parlay'. An electric motor drives the payout unit, the odds drum coil is activated when the ball rolls over a leaf switch beneath the playfield, and a wind-up mechanical timer runs for about ten minutes. According to Marketplace Pictorial History, this changing-odds feature marked the beginning of the bingo machine lineage.

Advertised at 50 inches long by 24 inches wide and also available in a ticket model, the game originally ran on batteries, though many examples were later converted to run from a wall outlet via a 110VAC/12VDC transformer. A period ad noted it was 'Manufactured under exclusive arrangement with Pacific Amuse. Mfg. Co.', cementing its unusual cross-company pedigree and making the Bally Derby a fascinating artifact of mid-1930s payout game design.