Starfire

The Starfire, designed by Harry Williams and manufactured by Williams Manufacturing Company in 1956, is a single-player electro-mechanical (EM) pinball machine that arrived late in Williams Manufacturing's original run (the company operated from 1944 until 1958). Flippers were by this time an established feature of pinball, having spread industry-wide following Gottlieb's Humpty Dumpty in 1947.

The Starfire features two flippers, three pop bumpers, and a single gobble hole, providing players with a range of strategic possibilities. Its compact feature set is typical of the simpler single-player EM games of the mid-1950s.

Harry Williams, the founder of Williams Manufacturing, was a major figure in early pinball development — he is credited with pioneering electromechanical scoring in machines like 1933's Contact and inventing the tilt mechanism in 1935, though the flipper itself was introduced by Gottlieb in 1947. The Starfire, with artwork by George Molentin, stands as one of many machines from this influential manufacturer during the classic EM period.