Flying Trapeze

Flying Trapeze, designed by Harry Mabs and manufactured by Gottlieb in September 1947, occupies a genuinely notable place in pinball history: it was the last flipperless game Gottlieb made before the company introduced flippers on 1947's 'Humpty Dumpty' - a Harry Mabs innovation that changed pinball forever. With a confirmed production run of 1,000 units, Flying Trapeze stands as the final word in Gottlieb's pre-flipper era.

As a flipperless game, Flying Trapeze relies on the classic skills of the era: a well-judged plunger shot and careful nudging. Its playfield is populated with fourteen passive bumpers and four kick-out holes, the latter catching the ball and ejecting it back into play for points. The dense bumper field gives the ball a lively, unpredictable path from top to bottom.

The machine's circus and carnival theme is brought to life by artist Roy Parker, whose colorful work adorned many Gottlieb games of the era. As the immediate predecessor to the flipper revolution - designed by the very man who would create it - Flying Trapeze is a fascinating bookend for collectors and historians alike.