Help identify an old pinball machine?

[MaximRecoil]

It was the first pinball machine I ever played. It was 1984 and I was 9. I have no idea what the name of it was because to me back then, pinball machines were all the same and I was far more interested in video games. Well, there was a local Methodist minister that used to come in and play that machine and he was really good at it. He would rack up 10 free games and then leave and since they were free games; I would play. I actually got pretty good at it; though I never got the hang of the finer points of general pinball play like the nudges and bumps (without ever actually "tilting" it of course) and whatnot like the minister did. I got to a million once; which was the free credit point on that particular game.

Anyway, I only remember a few details about it, and one of the details I have only seen on that machine and no others since; so I'm hoping it is not a common feature that could apply to lots of pinball machines.

For starters it was a late 70's or very early 80's game with a relatively plain, flat playing field. It had 4 slots at the top with a light for each slot. If the ball passed through each slot and lit up all 4 lights, it was a good thing. I can't remember if you got a big bonus or what but I remember trying to do that.

Now, the feature that I remember most about it was that between and behind the flippers, was a little "cage" of sorts that, depending on what was going on in the game, could either let the ball pass through; ending your play for that ball as if it wasn't even there, or it could catch the ball and shoot it back up into play. Something like this:



Does this ring any bells for anyone?

[USSEnterprise]

Do you remember if it had score reels or digital displays?

[MaximRecoil]

Definitely digital. I remember the small square window that showed the amount of credits plain as day; red light up numbers; like a typical digital alarm clock.

[USSEnterprise]

Can you be anymore descriptive than a cage? Was it a kickout hole? A pop-up centerpost?

[MaximRecoil]

Can you be anymore descriptive than a cage? Was it a kickout hole? A pop-up centerpost?

It was a pop-up centerpost, definitely not a hole. If you got right down and looked at it (which I did a few times) it was a flat metal shaft that stuck up to catch the ball. The "cage" part that was shaped (top view) like in my drawing was just a white plastic housing that covered the mechanism (as well as serving as a guide for the ball to make it into the mechanism properly) that caught the ball and shot it back up into play.

I'm guessing it was a common machine; because every other machine that I remember from that place was common, games like Tapper, Karate Champ VS, Pole Position, Vs. Excitebike, Double Dribble, Punch-Out, Ikari Warriors, Track and Field, Super Dodge Ball...

It was a full service laundromat that had 3 video arcade machines and 2 pinball machines at any given time; as well as a jukebox. The machines did good business and always seemed to be popular, common ones, and sometimes even brand new ones (Punch-Out showed up there in '84 for example, the year of its release).

[USSEnterprise]

You could always search www.ipdb.org The Internet Pinball Database

[MaximRecoil]

Yeah, if only I had some way to narrow the search. As it is, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. I am pretty sure that it was either a Bally or a Williams, since those are the only manufacturer names I ever remember seeing on any pinball machines back then. I could start with searching for 1982 Bally's I suppose, and see how that goes.

So you don't recall any games with that feature?

[USSEnterprise]

not off the top of my head. Do you remember any of the pictures on the backglass, playfield, or sides? # of pop bumpers? # of Drop targets?