Action (Sr)

The Action (Sr) pinball machine, manufactured by Automatic Amusements Company of Los Angeles in November 1934, is a rare and significant electro-mechanical game from the early history of pinball, designed by the legendary Harry Williams. Dating from the first wave of electrically-equipped pinball games, it represents the transitional period between purely mechanical games and the more complex electromechanical designs that followed - all long before the invention of the flipper in 1947.

The game's history is as interesting as the machine itself. According to the Encyclopedia of Pinball Vol. 2, Harry Williams gave Bally the manufacturing rights to the smaller 40 x 20 inch Junior model while his own company, Automatic Amusements, made this larger 46 x 22 inch Senior model. Under the agreement, Bally had distribution rights to both models, and Williams ended up shipping Senior games to Bally to meet a rush of orders, with Bally advertising both sizes.

The Bally-built playfields differ slightly from the Automatic Amusements version, using the word 'Bouncer' in the upper playfield in place of 'Rebound'. As an early Harry Williams design from a short-lived Los Angeles manufacturer, the Action (Sr) is a sought-after artifact among collectors interested in the roots of the industry and the early career of one of its most influential designers.