Hawthorne

The Hawthorne, manufactured by Bally in January 1939, is an early horse racing-themed electro-mechanical one-ball pinball game. As a product of pinball's formative years, it predates the 1947 introduction of flippers, so play would have relied on the initial plunger shot and the layout of pins, holes, and electromechanical scoring elements rather than player-controlled flippers. The game allowed up to 10 coins to be played per game, increasing the odds for players.

The Hawthorne's design and artwork are characteristic of its era, with bold graphics and minimal ornamentation typical of horse-racing-themed one-ball games of the late 1930s. Little further documentation survives about this machine's specific features beyond its basic classification, but as an early example of horse-racing pinball, it offers an interesting glimpse into the genre's beginnings.