# Ppmdonation **Source:** Pinball News Website **Type:** article **Published:** 2009-07-09 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/news/ppmdonation.html --- ## Analysis In July 2009, the Pacific Pinball Museum acquired a major collection of 176+ Gottlieb and Williams pinball machines from collector and historian Gordon Hasse Jr., spanning rare golden age games from 1946-1961 plus extensive pinball archives and memorabilia. The donation was transported via 26-foot truck and two 53-foot tractor-trailers across 3,000 miles from Pennsylvania and Florida to Alameda, California, significantly expanding PPM's collection toward its goal of becoming 'The Smithsonian of Pinball.' ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Gordon Hasse Jr. donated his entire collection of 176 pinball titles and related coin-operated machines to Pacific Pinball Museum after 35+ years of collecting — _Board Chairman Larry Zartarian reporting on the acquisition; describes Hasse as 'noted pinball collector and historian'_ - [HIGH] Hasse's collection includes at least one working or restorable example of every single-player Gottlieb woodrail pinball made from 1946 (Stage Door Canteen) through 1961 (Foto Finish) — _Detailed inventory provided by Zartarian describing completeness of Gottlieb coverage_ - [HIGH] Hasse accumulated one of the world's largest archives of pinball literature including 40 bound volumes of Billboard magazine (1948-1963) and 200+ three-ring binders of Richard Bueschel's pinball history — _Zartarian's inventory of archival materials; mentions Hasse is completing unpublished volumes 3-6 of Encyclopedia of Pinball_ - [HIGH] The collection was stored across multiple locations: backglasses in Morrisville PA, heads and bodies in 5 storage units near Poughkeepsie NY, and approximately 20 additional machines at Hasse's Orlando FL home — _Detailed logistics narrative describing the 2-week transport operation_ - [HIGH] Pacific Pinball Museum now houses approximately 700 machines including early bagatelle games from 1900s, pin and ball games from 1920s-1930s, golden age games from 1940s-1960s, and modern solid state/dot matrix games — _Zartarian's statement on current PPM collection size and composition post-acquisition_ ### Notable Quotes > "Rather than languishing as unassembled hulks in dark, cold and dusty warehouses, we believe that these gems should be restored and refurbished to the best of our abilities so that they can be played and enjoyed the way they were originally meant to be." > — **Larry Zartarian (PPM Board Chairman)**, mid-article > _Articulates PPM's core philosophy of active restoration and playability versus passive storage_ > "The Smithsonian of Pinball" > — **Michael Schiess (PPM Founder/Executive Director)**, early article > _Defines PPM's aspirational institutional identity and mission scope_ > "We were truly reduced to kids in a proverbial candy store, as our jaws kept dropping as title after rare title was wheeled out of the storage units and carefully placed onto the awaiting trucks." > — **Larry Zartarian**, loading narrative > _Conveys the rarity and significance of Hasse's collection; emphasizes emotional reaction to discovering iconic golden age titles_ > "As a result of the collaboration between Gordo and PPM, we have truly become a world-class museum and are well on our way to becoming 'The Smithsonian of Pinball'." > — **Larry Zartarian**, conclusion > _Frames the acquisition as a watershed moment in PPM's institutional development_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Pacific Pinball Museum (PPM) | organization | Nonprofit organization in Alameda, CA founded to preserve pinball history and education; recipient of Gordon Hasse Jr. donation; operates annual Pacific Pinball Exposition | | Gordon Hasse Jr. (Gordo) | person | Noted pinball collector, historian, and author who donated 176+ machines and extensive pinball archives to PPM; collected for 35+ years; completing Encyclopedia of Pinball volumes | | Larry Zartarian | person | Board Chairman of Pacific Pinball Museum; author of this acquisition report; coordinated the cross-country move | | Michael Schiess | person | Founder and Executive Director of Pacific Pinball Museum; conceived 'Smithsonian of Pinball' vision | | Steve Young | person | Owner of Pinball Resource facility in Poughkeepsie, NY; provided guided tour during collection transport | | Richard Bueschel | person | Late noted pinball historian whose 200+ three-ring binders of pinball history were acquired; entrusted Hasse with completing Encyclopedia of Pinball volumes 3-6 | | Gottlieb | company | Historic pinball manufacturer; represents 'Golden Age' of pinball (1940s-1950s); Hasse's collection heavily emphasizes Gottlieb woodrail machines from 1946-1961 | | Williams | company | Historic pinball manufacturer; Hasse's collection includes 12 Williams games from 1951-1955 | | Pacific Pinball Exposition (PPE) | event | Annual show held in San Rafael, CA; described as world's largest pinball machine show with 400+ games on free play; many Hasse collection games will be displayed | | Jim Dietrick | person | PPM board member and owner of The Pinball Revival Co.; assisted with final leg of collection transport from Orlando | ### Topics - **Primary:** Pinball museum curation and institutional growth, Golden age Gottlieb pinball machines (1940s-1950s), Pinball collecting and archival preservation - **Secondary:** Pinball history and documentation, Restoration and refurbishment of vintage machines, Community engagement through exhibitions and free play ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.92) — Uniformly celebratory tone regarding the acquisition; emphasis on rarity, historical significance, and community benefit; no critical perspectives or concerns raised ### Signals - **[business_signal]** Major institutional acquisition significantly expanding Pacific Pinball Museum's collection and positioning as world-class preservation facility (confidence: high) — Gordon Hasse Jr. donation of 176+ machines plus extensive archives; PPM collection now approaching 700 machines; described as becoming 'The Smithsonian of Pinball' - **[event_signal]** Collection acquisition publicly announced through Pinball News; Pacific Pinball Exposition positioned as major community gathering with 400+ games on free play (confidence: high) — Article published on Pinball News; mention of PPE as 'world's largest pinball machine show' with Hasse games to be displayed - **[community_signal]** Significant Bay Area pinball community infrastructure and expertise demonstrated through coordinated multi-week transport operation involving 10+ volunteers (confidence: high) — Detailed crew list of PPM members coordinating cross-country logistics; partnership with Pinball Resource; success of multi-location collection consolidation --- ## Transcript THE MR. & MRS. GORDON HASSE, Jr./ PACIFIC PINBALL MUSEUM PINBALL COLLECTION EAST COAST TO WEST COAST MIGRATION Date: 9th July 2009 Report by Larry Zartarian As the Board Chairman of the Pacific Pinball Museum (PPM), I have been actively involved for the past 7 years or so with a dozen other passionate and energetic Board members of the non-profit PPM in Alameda, CA. Our mission is to establish a permanent home for our 700+ pinball machine collection somewhere here in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Far from being a mere arcade, our goal is to become “The Smithsonian of Pinball”, as our founder and Executive Director Michael Schiess so often puts it.  In other words, our aim is to educate and inform the public about the historical, artistic, scientific and technological aspects of pinball – and the role it has played as a truly unique American entertainment and art form. About a year and a half ago, Mike and I received a note from a very good friend of ours, noted pinball collector and historian Gordon Hasse, Jr. (aka “Gordo”), who indicated that he was looking for a good home for the collection of pinball machines and related coin operated devices that he had amassed over a 35+ year period of collecting.  What’s more, Gordo had heard of what the PPM was trying to accomplish and had decided that he wanted to donate his entire collection of pinball and related coin-operated machines to us. Gordon Hasse, Jr. with Michael Schiess at Philadelphia airport Although we had communicated briefly over the years, and I had heard a lot about Gordo’s background as a noted author and pinball historian, I really was not all that familiar with the extent of his collection. But after speaking with Gordo at length, and finally meeting him in person at our 2nd Annual Pacific Pinball Exhibition last October, it immediately became apparent that we have a lot in common – not just our admiration and respect for Gottlieb’s “Golden Age” pinballs of the 1940s and 1950s – but also our shared goals, objectives and the passion we have for preserving pinball’s past and wanting to see it enjoyed by future generations.  Rather than languishing as unassembled hulks in dark, cold and dusty warehouses, we believe that these gems should be restored and refurbished to the best of our abilities so that they can be played and enjoyed the way they were originally meant to be. Being a very discriminating collector, Gordo had managed to amass a collection that includes at least one working or restorable example of every single-player Gottlieb woodrail pinball made from 1946 (Stage Door Canteen) through 1961 (Foto Finish), in addition to Gottlieb’s first 4-player Super Jumbo and first 2-player Duette (176 titles in all), plus 12 Williams games from 1951-1955 (including Control Tower, Shoot the Moon, Paratrooper, Twenty Grand, Grand Champion, Army/Navy and Wonderland); 17 other games from various manufacturers (including Rockola, Genco, Victory Games, Marvel, United, Exhibit and Chicago Coin); various related coin-operated amusement machines (including Seeburg’s Shoot the Bear, 2 Scope-A-Tone Video Jukeboxes, a Pop-Corn-Sez Popcorn Machine, and a 1952 Seeburg Model “G” Jukebox); along with a 1938 Lusse Brothers Bumper Car and an original “D. Gottlieb & Co.” Factory Sign. As a noted pinball historian and author, Gordo had also managed to accumulate over the years one of the world’s largest archives of library-quality pinball and other coin-operated amusement machine literature, photos, ephemera and memorabilia, including 40 bound volumes of The Billboard magazine from 1948-1963; the complete collection of the late noted pinball historian Richard Bueschel covering the history of pinball contained in over 200 three-ring binders, and dozens of books related to pinball and allied coin-operated amusement devices.  Gordo has also taken responsibility for completing the unpublished volumes 3 through 6 of the Encyclopedia of Pinball that was entrusted to him by Richard Bueschel prior to his death. Once all the items in his collection had been inventoried, we decided that the best time to accomplish the move would be during the Spring or Summer months, as Gordo had stored his games’ backglasses in bubble-wrapped cardboard boxes in Morrisville, PA; and the games’ heads and bodies were being stored separately in Poughkeepsie, NY – a prime Jon Snow belt location! Gordon's backglasses, protected in bubble wrap and cardboard Mike and I flew from our homes in Oakland, CA to Philadelphia, PA to meet Gordo, who had flown there from his home in Orlando, FL to meet us upon our arrival. His brother, Pete, who lives in nearby Abington, PA, met the three of us at the airport. Pete had arranged for the rental of a 26-foot Penske truck that we would use for the next 2 weeks. From Abington, PA we drove to Morrisville, PA, where we spent most of the next day loading the neatly stored and arranged backglasses onto the Penske rental truck, and later that evening we drove 170 miles to Poughkeepsie, NY where we began 2 days of opening 5 different storage units in LaGrangeville, PA that contained the games’ heads and bodies.  The storage units were just minutes from Steve Young’s Pinball Resource in nearby Poughkeepsie. Gordon Hasse outside one of his storage units We were very fortunate to have the help of Mike Weitman and his father Maurice, who both live approximately 2 hours away in New Jersey for our 2 days of opening and emptying the contents of the 5 storage units. Our main task was to move the various heads and bodies from the units onto 2 separate 53-foot tractor trailers that were going to make the 3,000-mile trek from Poughkeepsie, NY to Alameda, CA over the next week. While loading, we were also able to meet with Steve Young.  Along the way, we had also transferred all the backglasses from the Penske truck onto the two 53-foot United Van Line 16-wheelers. Mike Weitman moving a Gottlieb 1950 Bank a Ball head under the watchful eye of his father, Maurice Weitman As we began to paw our way through Gordo’s vast treasures, it immediately became apparent that this was no ordinary collection.  Indeed, there was “Ali-Baba”, peering at us from just inside the first roll-top door of the very first storage unit, followed closely by “Flying Trapeze” (Gottlieb’s last pre-flipper game), then “Marjorie” (named for David Gottlieb’s daughter), and eventually the entire “Fairy Tale” series from 1947 and 1948 (“Humpty Dumpty”, “Lady Robin Hood”, “Cinderella”, “Jack ‘N Jill”, “Olde King Cole”, “Ali Baba”, “Alice in Wonderland”), followed by “Harvest Moon”, “Double-Shuffle”, and the almost never-seen “Mermaid’ – just to name a few. Gordon with a 1948 Gottlieb Ali-Baba game from one of his storage units We were truly reduced to kids in a proverbial candy store, as our jaws kept dropping as title after rare title was wheeled out of the storage units and carefully placed onto the awaiting trucks. The two 53-foot trucks used to transport the collection to California After two days of loading, the two 53-foot trucks were on their way for the cross-country journey from Poughkeepsie, NY to Alameda, CA.  That night, we were able to visit Steve Young’s Pinball Resource and were treated to a narrated guided tour of his amazing facility. Steve Young with Gordon Hasse, Michael Schiess and Larry Zartarian The two 53-foot trucks left for Alameda, CA and arrived 3,000 miles and 5 days later.  In the meantime, I returned to my home in Oakland, CA, but Mike and Gordo drove two days and 1,200 miles south to Orlando, FL to pick up about 20 more machines plus backglasses and parts that Gordo had set up at his home. Jim Dietrick, PPM board member and owner of The Pinball Revival Co., had flown to Orlando the previous night to fill the vacancy that my departure had left.  Mike picked up Jim and began the last leg of this daunting move.  After taking the remaining games from Gordo’s Orlando, FL home in 100+ heat and humidity, Mike and Jim set off for their 5 day, 3,000 mile journey to Alameda, CA, where they would be met by many members of our PPM crew, including myself, Jem Gruber, Helmut Jordt, Dan Fontes, Melissa Harmon (Mike’s wife), Tanio Klyce, Rob Perica, and Gary Pratt and Dean Davidson (the two United Van Lines truck drivers).  One day earlier, this same crew of folks had managed to unload, store, map, photograph and catalogue the entire collection from both of the large trucks. The games from the trucks are carefully unloaded and catalogued A selection of the machines following their journey to Alameda Assorted bodies and heads arrive safely Now, the task of restoration and refurbishing many of these games begins!  As a result of the collaboration between Gordo and PPM, we have truly become a world-class museum and are well on our way to becoming “The Smithsonian of Pinball”.  The PPM collection now includes many examples of early bagatelle games from the early 1900’s, many “pin and ball” games from the late 1920’s and the 1930’s, and a nice sampling of 1940’s, 1950’s, and 1960’s machines from the “Golden Age of Pinball”.  When you include hundreds of today’s modern solid state and dot matrix display games, we are now approaching 700 machines. Part of the PPM crew who unloaded the collection in Alameda We are hoping that Gordo’s generous donation will spur local collectors to consider donating some of their machines to us as well.  As it now stands, our current Pacific Pinball Museum is bursting at the seams and we are actively looking for a much larger permanent home to house the entire collection.  Part of our fund-raising effort includes producing the annual Pacific Pinball Exposition (PPE), with over 400 games on free play.  It’s the world’s largest pinball machine show, held each year in nearby San Rafael, CA, and many of Gordo’s games will be on display and playable during this year’s show.  We hope many Pinball News readers will be able to attend, and also look forward to seeing you at our Pacific Pinball Museum soon! For more details on both our PPM and PPE efforts, please visit our web site at www.pacificpinball.org Back to the News page Back to the front page _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 9e249e83-3dc8-4347-88d2-f219dac657f8*