Alabama Crimson Tide

The Alabama Crimson Tide is a one-of-a-kind re-themed pinball machine created in 2004 by Andy Patko, who converted Gottlieb's 1976 electro-mechanical (EM) title 'Target Alpha' into a University of Alabama football tribute. Only a single confirmed unit exists, making it an extremely rare custom creation rather than a factory-produced machine.

Gameplay retains the underlying EM hardware of 'Target Alpha,' with four flippers, two pop bumpers, a 5-bank of drop targets, and a 10-bank of drop targets providing the core challenge. The four-player format and drop-target-heavy layout emphasize precision shot-making.

Visually, the machine was reworked with football and Crimson Tide theming layered over the original Gottlieb hardware. As a single custom re-theme rather than a mass-produced release, the Alabama Crimson Tide is less a piece of mainstream pinball history than a unique fan-made tribute, but it remains a notable example of the customization and re-theming community within pinball collecting.