Classy Bowler

The Classy Bowler, manufactured by D. Gottlieb & Company in July 1956, is a single-player electro-mechanical game with a bowling theme, designed by the prolific Wayne Neyens with artwork by Roy Parker. A confirmed 1,100 units were produced, and its backglass carries Gottlieb's famous slogan: 'Amusement Pinballs, as American as Baseball and Hot Dogs!'

The playfield offers an engaging mid-1950s feature set: two flippers, four pop bumpers, two slingshots, five standup targets, two gobble holes, and dual outlanes on both the left and right. The sound package is classic EM Gottlieb -- three bells and a knocker responding to the action.

The game's theme capitalized on the enormous popularity of bowling as a recreational pastime in 1950s America. Collectors have noted an oddity around its legs: the flyer shows steel legs, yet examples with wooden legs have surfaced; Gottlieb's bill of materials calls out metal legs only, and the leading theory is that any wooden-legged examples were sample games. An Extended Play prototype version of the game was also made, making Classy Bowler an appealing piece of Gottlieb wedgehead-era history.