Steeple Chase

The 1932 Steeple Chase, manufactured by Exhibit Supply Company (ESCO) of Chicago, is a pure mechanical (PM) tabletop/counter game — one of the earliest known types of pinball-adjacent amusement, predating not only the flipper (introduced in 1947) but even the electromechanical machines that would follow later in the 1930s.

As a purely mechanical device with no electrical components, Steeple Chase relied entirely on spring plungers, gravity, and simple mechanical targets rather than any electrical scoring or ball-control mechanisms — hallmarks of the earliest counter-top pinball games sold to bars, drugstores, and other small retail locations.

Very little detailed information survives about Steeple Chase's specific design or artwork, which is common for tabletop games from this very early period of the industry. Its existence nonetheless offers a valuable window into the pre-electromechanical roots of pinball, before flippers, playfield lighting, or even standard cabinet formats had been established.