Kelly Pool (Junior)

The Kelly Pool (Junior) pinball machine, manufactured by D. Gottlieb & Company in May 1935, is an early example of electromechanical gaming that draws its name and theme from Kelly Pool, a billiards rule-set played with a full 15-ball rack and a cue ball. It represents an interesting billiards-themed take on the pinball format of its day and holds appeal for collectors and historians tracing the format's early variety.

The gameplay experience on Kelly Pool (Junior) is centered around shooting ten differently colored balls into playfield holes, each of which lights a corresponding score value on the backglass. Ten cents bought ten balls, and the playfield contains 26 trap holes for players to target. The absence of a payout mechanism or backbox on this particular example adds to its enigmatic charm, though it's unclear whether that's typical of the Junior model or unique to this unit.

Notably, this example of the Kelly Pool (Junior) has undergone some modifications over the years, with its batteries replaced by a transformer. Measuring approximately 38 inches by 20 1/4 inches — smaller than the advertised 40-by-21-inch specification for the Junior model — it suggests this was marketed as a compact alternative to the larger 'Kelly Pool (Senior)' also released by Gottlieb in 1935, making surviving examples like this one a prized find among collectors of electromechanical pinball history.