The Six Million Dollar Man

The Six Million Dollar Man pinball machine, released in October 1978 by Bally Manufacturing Corporation, is a notable licensed pinball tie-in to the popular ABC television series starring Lee Majors as Steve Austin. Designed by Greg Kmiec with artwork by Dave Christensen, this solid-state machine holds a distinctive place in pinball history: Bally made it a six-player game specifically to use up remaining stock of six-digit score displays before switching to seven-digit displays on its next release, 'Skateball.'

The Six Million Dollar Man features a range of engaging gameplay elements, including two flippers, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, six standup targets, two spinning targets, two star rollovers, a 5-bank of drop targets, a kick-out hole, a right outlane ball-return gate, and an up-post between the flippers. This level of six-player simultaneous play was relatively rare at the time, setting it apart from its contemporaries.

The machine's artwork draws on the show's bionic action-hero imagery to tie in with the television series. With over 10,320 units produced, The Six Million Dollar Man remains a notable example of Bally's licensed-theme pinballs of the late 1970s, and reportedly sold well in its day.