Hi-Boy

The Hi-Boy, manufactured by Birmingham Vending Company in February 1933, is an early example of a pure mechanical pinball machine, produced during the formative years of the pinball industry. As one of the earliest commercially manufactured pinball machines, it offers a window into the game's earliest form, before electromechanical and later solid-state innovations transformed the industry.

From a gameplay perspective, little is known about the Hi-Boy's specific rules or objectives. As a Pure Mechanical (PM) machine, it predates the invention of flippers, which would not appear until 1947, so players likely relied on a plunger-fired ball navigating pins, pockets, and targets to score points, in the tradition of early bagatelle-derived games.

Little is documented about the Hi-Boy's design, artwork, or designer. Its relative obscurity today suggests that few examples of this machine may have survived, making each known instance of interest to researchers and collectors studying pinball's nascent period.