Ali

Ali, manufactured by Stern Electronics in March 1980, brings the world of boxing to the playfield with a licensed theme celebrating the sport's most famous champion. The game was designed by Harry Williams, one of the true pioneers of the pinball industry, with backglass and playfield artwork by Bob Timm, who created both while working at Ad Posters. A four-player solid-state game running on the Stern M-200 MPU, Ali had a confirmed production run of 2,971 units, of which 21 were exported as knock-down games for assembly in Australia.

Ali's gameplay offers a robust array of features: two flippers, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, five standup targets, four kick-out holes, two 3-bank drop targets, a spinning target, and a horseshoe lane, an arsenal that caters to both casual players and seasoned veterans. An on/off switch enables optional background fight tones, adding a touch of ringside atmosphere to the game.

Despite its famous subject, Ali was not a commercial success; Stern programmer Alan McNeil recalled that the game did terribly in sales. That modest run, together with its boxing license and Harry Williams pedigree, makes Ali an interesting piece for collectors exploring the early solid-state era.