Electro-Ball

The Electro-Ball is a rare, little-documented electro-mechanical table-top/counter game from the early 1930s, manufactured by the Electro-Ball Company, Inc. of Dallas, Texas. Its game board was covered by U.S. Patent #1,894,469, filed February 23, 1932 by Silas H. Lynch and granted January 17, 1933, making it one of the earlier patented pinball-adjacent designs.

Its standout feature is a spinning metal disc on the playfield, powered in at least one surviving example by an adjustable-speed AC phonograph motor, which would have offered a novel and engaging mechanic for players of the era. The cabinet is compact, measuring 26 1/4 inches long, 15 inches wide, and roughly 7 1/2 to 9 1/2 inches high depending on front or back -- typical dimensions for a counter-top coin-operated game of the period.

Beyond its patent record and physical description, little else has been documented about the Electro-Ball's specific rules, artwork, or original production numbers. It remains a noteworthy early example of powered (rather than purely mechanical) pinball-style gaming, of interest to historians studying the transition from bagatelle to electromechanical amusement machines.