World's Series Champion Model

The World pinball machine, formally titled 'World's Series Champion Model,' was manufactured by Rock-ola Manufacturing Corporation in February 1934. It is a Pure Mechanical (PM), single-player machine with a baseball theme, part of the early wave of coin-operated pinball games that emerged in the early 1930s.

Gameplay offers 1 cent or 5 cent play, with 15 balls per game and 3 outs per game, mirroring the structure of an actual baseball contest. The upper playfield uses a spread of six chrome rails defining five lanes marked 'Hit,' 'Strike,' 'Ball,' or 'Out.' The cabinet is advertised at 28 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 42 inches high. According to the Encyclopedia of Pinball, 'World's Series' debuted at the February 1934 Coin Machine Expo in Chicago, with test units reaching distributors that spring; when full production began in May 1934, the upper playfield was redesigned, replacing the chrome rails with pins to cut fabrication costs and time, and the revised version was released as Rock-ola's 'World's Series (Second Model).'

The game's design is protected under Design Patent DE90,927, applied for in August 1933 and issued to David C. Rockola in October 1933. As an early Rock-ola release from the company's 1932-1938 pinball production run, World's Series Champion Model is a notable piece of early baseball-themed pinball history.