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Current Pinball News Hall of Fame Members

Pinball News Website·article·analyzed·May 30, 2023
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.020

TL;DR

Pinball News Hall of Fame inductees 2008-2022 honor industry pioneers and community leaders.

Summary

This article presents a comprehensive list of Pinball News Hall of Fame inductees from 2008 to 2022, recognizing key figures in pinball design, operations, community organization, and historical preservation. The hall of fame ceremonies were traditionally held at UK national pinball shows, with inductions resuming in 2022 after a two-year hiatus. Recipients span legendary designers, manufacturers, operators, historians, and community organizers who have shaped the modern pinball industry.

Key Claims

  • The Pinball News Hall of Fame induction ceremonies were originally held at the UK Pinball Show (2008-2009), then the UK Pinball Party (2010-2015), with a hiatus until UK Pinfest resumed presentations in 2022

    high confidence · Article explicitly states the progression of venues and organizers across years

  • Lyman F. Sheats Jr. is an ace rules programmer and designer who developed and coded many of today's most popular titles

    high confidence · 2022 induction citation; aligns with KB entry on Lyman as legendary code designer

  • George Gomez heads up the game design team at Stern Pinball

    high confidence · 2013 induction description; aligns with KB identifying Gomez as Chief Creative Officer and Head of Product Development at Stern

  • Steve Ritchie is a legendary pinball designer with a string of hit titles from five decades in the industry

    high confidence · 2009 induction citation; consistent with KB identifying Ritchie as legendary designer currently at Jersey Jack Pinball

  • Gary Stern founded Data East Pinball, Sega Pinball, and Stern Pinball with a lifetime in the business

    high confidence · 2010 induction description; confirms founding role in three major manufacturers

Notable Quotes

  • “Team who support numerous shows, introduce many new players and raise huge sums for charity”

    Pinball News (on Northern Lights Pinball) @ 2022 induction — Describes community support and charitable contribution as hall of fame criteria

  • “Ace rules programmer and designer who developed and coded many of today's most popular titles”

    Pinball News (on Lyman F. Sheats Jr.) @ 2022 induction — Emphasizes code design excellence as recognized contribution to pinball

  • “Founder of Heighway Pinball and organiser of the UK Pinball Party shows”

    Pinball News (on Andrew Heighway) @ 2012 induction — Recognizes both manufacturing and show organization contributions

  • “World-class pinball player and founder of the IFPA to promote competitive pinball worldwide”

    Pinball News (on Josh Sharpe) @ 2015 induction — Highlights founding role in competitive pinball infrastructure (IFPA)

  • “Legendary game designer for Williams who recently passed at the age of 101”

    Pinball News (on Steve Kordek) @ 2012 induction — Recognizes longevity and legendary status in pinball history

Entities

Lyman F. Sheats Jr.personGeorge GomezpersonSteve RitchiepersonAndrew HeighwaypersonGary SternpersonJosh SharpepersonJack Guarnieriperson

Signals

  • ?

    event_signal: Pinball News Hall of Fame ceremonies held at UK national pinball shows (UK Pinball Show 2008-2009, UK Pinball Party 2010-2015, UK Pinfest 2022-present); recognition of key industry figures

    high · Article explicitly traces evolution of induction ceremony venues from 2008 to 2022 across three different UK show organizations

  • ?

    personnel_signal: George Gomez transitioned from individual designer to heading game design team at Stern Pinball, indicating organizational growth and leadership structure

    high · 2013 induction describes Gomez as 'A famous pinball designer in his own rights but now heading up the game design team at Stern Pinball'

Topics

Pinball Hall of Fame / Industry RecognitionprimaryLegendary Designers and Game DesignprimaryPinball Community Organization and EventsprimaryPinball Manufacturing and BusinesssecondaryCompetitive Pinball and IFPAsecondaryPinball History and PreservationsecondaryUK Pinball Show Organizationsecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.95)— Article is celebratory in tone, honoring accomplished figures across pinball history. No criticism or controversy present. Focus is on recognizing contributions and achievements across design, business, community, and historical preservation roles.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

# The latest Hall of Fame inductees are traditionally announced at the UK’s national pinball show. In 2008 and 2009 that was the *UK Pinball Show* organised by Nick Bennett. In 2010 Andrew Heighway took the reins with the *UK Pinball Party* which continued until 2015. After a hiatus for two years, Phillip Murphy launched the *UK Pinfest* show in 2018 which continues to this day, with the induction presentations resuming in 2022. Here are all the inductees to the Pinball News Hall of Fame, also incorporating those inducted under its original name of the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame: **2022** The Hall of Fame returns to the UK’s national pinball show. UK Pinfest is held at the Mercure Daventry Court and the induction ceremony took place in the main hall on Sunday 28th August, 2022. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2022-nlp-300x230.png) **Northern Lights Pinball** Team who support numerous shows, introduce many new players and raise huge sums for charity. **Paul Brock**Founder and host of the hugely popular Pinball Info website and community discussion forum. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2022-paul-brock-300x282.png) ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2022-lyman-sheats-2-279x300.png) **Lyman F. Sheats Jr..** Ace rules programmer and designer who developed and coded many of today’s most popular titles. ## --- **2015** For the eighth year of inductions to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame, the ceremony continued as part of the UK Pinball Party’s awards dinner as it moved to the Heighway Pinball factory in Merthyr Tydfil on Saturday 22nd August, 2015. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2015-joe-balcer-300x250.jpg) **Joe Balcer** Popular game designer at Stern Pinball and now leading the design of Jersey Jack Pinball’s first title. **Matt Vince**Pinball collector and founder of the London Pinball game operation business. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2015-matt-vince-300x214.jpg) ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2015-josh-sharpe-300x194.jpg) **Josh Sharpe** World-class pinball player and founder of the IFPA to promote competitive pinball worldwide. ## --- **2014** The seventh year of inductions to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame was held at the Daventry Court Hotel as part of the UK Pinball Party’s awards dinner on Saturday 30th August, 2014. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2014-barry-oursler-300x217.jpg) **Barry Oursler**Famous Williams pinball designer of games including the Pinbot and the Comet/Cyclone/Hurricane series. **Dave Willcox**Founder of the Pinball Daze parts business and operator around his native South Wales. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2014-dave-willcox-300x215.jpg) ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2014-rob-berk-mike-pacak-2-300x212.jpg) **Mike Pacak & Rob Berk** Organisers of the annual Pinball Expo in Chicago which was about to celebrate its 30th show. ## --- **2013** The sixth year of inductions to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame continued to be held as part of the UK Pinball Party’s awards dinner at the Daventry Court Hotel on Saturday 10th August, 2013. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2013-george-gomez-300x219.jpg) **George Gomez**A famous pinball designer in his own rights but now heading up the game design team at Stern Pinball. **Phil Palmer**Founder of the Pinball Heaven games, repairs and parts supply business. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2013-phil-palmer-191x300.jpg) ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2013-dave-rolfe-300x205.jpg) **Dave Rolfe**Popular collector of early solid-state games and organiser of the Welsh Classic Pinball Open. ## --- **2012** For the fifth year of inductions to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame we were once again part of the UK Pinball Party’s awards dinner which was hosted at the same location but the newly-renamed Daventry Court Hotel on Saturday 18th August, 2012. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2012-mark-ritchie-300x230.jpg) **Mark Ritchie**Famed pinball designer and more recently head of development for Big Buck Hunter at Play Mechanix. **Andrew Heighway**Founder of Heighway Pinball and organiser of the UK Pinball Party shows. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2012-andrew-heighway-221x300.jpg) ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2012-steve-kordek-300x225.jpg) **Steve Kordek**Legendary game designer for Williams who recently passed at the age of 101. ## --- **2011** The fourth year of inductions to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame again took place as part of the UK Pinball Party’s awards dinner which was hosted at the Barcelo Daventry Hotel on Saturday 13th August, 2011. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2011-jack-guarnieri-1-300x222.jpg) **Jack Guarnieri**Founder of Jersey Jack Pinball and Pinball Sales, manufacturer of popular feature-packed games. **Will Barber**Organiser of the South Coast Slam charity pinball show on Robert Englunds’s south coast. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2011-will-barber-300x224.jpg) ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2011-jay-stafford-1-300x207.jpg) **Jay Stafford**Co-founder of the hugely popular Internet Pinball Database and pinball historian. ## --- **2010** For the third year of inductees to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame, the presentation took place as part of the newly-founded UK Pinball Party’s awards dinner at the Barcelo Daventry Hotel on Saturday 14th August, 2010. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2010-dennis-nordman-300x218.jpg) **Dennis Nordman**Famed pinball designer with a long career creating popular and humorous titles. **Mark Squires**Pinball restorer, organiser of the Swavesey Pinball Weekend and sponsor of the UK Pinball Show. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2010-mark-squires-248x300.jpg) ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2010-gary-stern-300x200.jpg) **Gary Stern**Founder of Data East Pinball, Sega Pinball and Stern Pinball with a lifetime in the business ## --- **2009** The second group of inductees to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame were announced during the UK Pinball Show 2009 awards dinner which was held at the Marriott Northampton on Saturday 25th July, 2009. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2009-steve-ritchie-277x300.jpg) **Steve Ritchie**Legendary pinball designer with a string of hit titles from his five decades in the industry. **Nick Bennett**Founder of Pinballers Anonymous and organiser of the UK Pinball Show. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2009-nick-bennett-300x257.jpg) ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2009-gary-flower-270x300.jpg) **Gary Flower**Pinball historian and co-author of the famous pinball book The Lure of the Silver Ball. ## --- **2008** The first three members of the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame were inducted during the UK Pinball Show’s awards dinner which was held at the Kettering Park Hotel & Spa on Saturday 30th August, 2008. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2008-john-trudeau-226x300.jpg) **John Trudeau**Pinball designer who has enjoyed a long history in the business during which he has created many popular classic and innovative designs. **Martin Ayub**Editor of Pinball News and owner of the UK Pinball Group who travels the world to report and compete in tournaments. ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2008-martin-ayub-300x221.jpg) ![](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/hall-of-fame/hof2008-andy-netherwood-300x210.jpg) **Andy Netherwood**Owner of the Pinball Mania parts and game repair business who also works as show tech to keep all the games running. ## **[Back to the Pinball News Hall of Fame](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/pinball-news-hall-of-fame/)**
Barry Oursler
person
John Trudeauperson
Martin Ayubperson
Paul Brockperson
Northern Lights Pinballorganization
Pinball Newsorganization
UK Pinball Showevent
UK Pinball Partyevent
UK Pinfestevent
IFPAorganization
Stern Pinballcompany
Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
Heighway Pinballcompany