Big Parade

Big Parade, designed by Lyn Durant and Harry Williams for the Exhibit Supply Company (ESCO) in November 1941, is a notable flipperless electro-mechanical pinball machine. Released just weeks before America's entry into World War II, its theme of military parades and patriotic pride captured the national mood of the moment, brought to life by artist George Molentin.

The game offered five balls for five cents, the standard format of its day, and its playfield features 14 passive bumpers and a single kick-out hole. With no flippers yet invented, scoring depended on the plunger, gravity, and skillful nudging as the ball worked its way down through the bumper field.

Exhibit Supply Company produced games from 1932 to 1957, and Big Parade benefits from a distinguished pedigree: Harry Williams would go on to found Williams Manufacturing, and Lyn Durant would found United Manufacturing, making this a collaboration between two of the most influential figures in pinball history. For those lucky enough to encounter it, Big Parade offers both patriotic period charm and a genuine piece of the industry's design lineage.