Big Inning (Chicago Model)

Big Inning (Chicago Model) is a 1963 electro-mechanical (EM) pinball machine from Williams Electronic Manufacturing Corporation. Known internally as Model 289, this single-player, baseball-themed machine features mechanical backbox animation and novelty play.

The game features seven hanging targets and a single unpainted metal ramp, up which balls are shot into a rectangular opening above the hanging targets to award Home Runs -- a distinctive mechanical feature for its era. Williams also produced a New York variant, Model 286, which lacks the playfield ramp and the large Home Run window above the hanging targets. A redemption/replay version of this game was released as Williams' '1963 Major League.'

Big Inning's design and theme are representative of early-1960s baseball-themed pinball, relying on mechanical ingenuity rather than electronics for its scoring gimmicks. As a relic of early pinball history, it remains an interesting find for collectors interested in the era's mechanical animation features.