Deluxe Special Baseball
About This Machine
The Deluxe Special Baseball is a rare electro-mechanical pinball machine manufactured by Williams Manufacturing Company in June 1953. It was a novelty-play-only game officially licensed by the City of New York, reflecting the era's ties between local sports culture and coin-operated amusements.
The game's short backbox houses a mechanical animation of men running the bases, with lights on the playfield indicating which bases are occupied — a clever bit of electromechanical showmanship for a single-player baseball-themed machine. It used a single coin chute accepting only dimes.
Deluxe Special Baseball's compact size, baseball theme, and animated backbox capture the aesthetic of early-1950s pinball, when manufacturers were experimenting with novelty mechanics to draw in players. It remains a notable piece of pinball history for collectors interested in sports-themed and novelty-play EM machines.
Technical Details
- Theme:
- Sports - Baseball
- Model Number:
- 93
- Notable Features:
- Short backbox. Novelty play only, licensed by the City of New York. Backbox animation (men run bases). Lights on playfield indicate men on bases. Single entry coin chute for 10 cents only.