Sport-Parade

The Chicago Coin Machine Manufacturing Company's Sport-Parade is a flipperless electro-mechanical pinball machine produced in 1940. It is themed around snow skiing, a somewhat unusual choice compared to the more common horse-racing and baseball themes of contemporary sports pinballs, and reflects Chicago Coin's willingness to explore varied sporting motifs during this era.

Key to Sport-Parade's character are its 17 passive bumpers, a common feature among flipperless EM machines of the period. The game had a confirmed production run of 2,894 units. This era of pinball design, characterized by a mechanical focus and simple gameplay mechanics, laid the groundwork for the more complex machines that followed.

While little is known about the designer or artist behind Sport-Parade, its skiing theme sets it apart from its sports-themed contemporaries and makes it an interesting piece for collectors and enthusiasts exploring the variety of themes used in EM-era pinball manufacturing.