Foot Baller

The Foot Baller is an intriguing example of early pinball design, hailing from Nordamatic's short-lived stint as a manufacturer in Verona, Italy, active from 1975 to 1979. This electro-mechanical (EM), single-player machine is essentially a 1-player copy of Gottlieb's 1975 'Soccer', though without Soccer's kick-out holes, right outlane ball return gate, or mechanical backbox animation.

What sets the Foot Baller apart is its blend of gameplay features, including two flippers, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, standup targets, spinning targets, and a star roll-over. The addition of seven score reels allows players to rack up large point totals: one million through nine million points are tracked by a solitary score reel positioned below the main score reel bank, with a silk-screened ten million point indicator illuminated by a light bulb.

The machine's wedge-head cabinet is typical of 1970s EM design, and its soccer, or 'futbol,' theme was an early attempt to tap into international sports enthusiasm, a subject that would later become a staple of pinball. Little is known about the machine's designer, but as a European reworking of a Gottlieb classic, the Foot Baller remains a fascinating piece of pinball history.