Bonus Baseball

Bonus Baseball, manufactured by United Manufacturing Company of Chicago in February 1962, is an electro-mechanical bat game, the pitch-and-bat cousin of pinball in which the player swings a bat to hit pitched balls. Featuring mechanical backbox animation and both fast and slow pitch, it carries the distinction of being the last bat game United ever made, giving it a special place in the company's history.

The scoring system is what sets it apart. The player is spotted 10 Bases at the start of the game and earns additional Bases through playfield action. A ball falling into the Bonus playfield pocket adds the existing Bases Score value to the Bonus Score, and since the Bases Score never resets, it continues to grow throughout the game. Replays are given for Runs and Bonus scores. The game uses four steel balls of 7/8 inch diameter, features three unpainted metal ramps, and cost 10 cents per play or 3 plays for 25 cents.

There is an interesting production footnote: early advertising showed the game with wood rails, but in March 1962 United announced the addition of chrome side rails, apparently a quick response to Williams' recent switch to metal rails on its own bat games. United's amusement machine assets were purchased by the Seeburg Corporation in 1964, the same year Seeburg acquired Williams, making Bonus Baseball a snapshot of the final chapter of an independent United.