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Episode 432 - Pinball Magazine Number 5 Review, 1952 United Steeple Chase

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·28m 27s·analyzed·Oct 11, 2018
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.029

TL;DR

Pinball Magazine #5 retrospective on Wayne Nyans, plus deep dive into 1952 United Steeplechase mechanics.

Summary

Host Nicholas Backbone reviews Pinball Magazine #5, which features a career retrospective on legendary Gottlieb designer Wayne Nyans with interviews and articles by Gordon Hasse and editor Jonathan Euston. The episode also covers the 1952 United Steeplechase, a unique flipperless horse-racing game with a pulley-driven mechanism and multi-coin replay incentive system, and promotes the upcoming York Pinball Show (October 12-13, 2018) where rare bingo machines and games will be exhibited.

Key Claims

  • Pinball Magazine #5 is 360 pages and features a career retrospective on Wayne Nyans

    high confidence · Nicholas Backbone, host of For Amusement Only, describing the magazine contents

  • Wayne Nyans was the designer of many Gottlieb pinball machines and worked as chief engineer, previously at Western Equipment and Supply

    high confidence · Nicholas Backbone, citing information from Pinball Magazine #5

  • The 1952 United Steeplechase is the only horse-race animation game Backbone is aware of that was made by United

    medium confidence · Nicholas Backbone discussing the featured game

  • United Steeplechase uses a pulley-driven horse mechanism, while Williams and Bally used clutch-driven systems

    medium confidence · Nicholas Backbone comparing mechanisms based on backbox photos from Internet Pinball Database

  • United Steeplechase is a multi-coin game that can award up to 100 replays for correct horse selection

    high confidence · Nicholas Backbone, citing promotional materials for the game

  • Gordon Hasse and Wayne Nyans have both appeared on Straight Down the Middle: a pinball show

    high confidence · Nicholas Backbone introducing the featured figures

  • Multiple rare bingo and early pinball machines will be at the York Pinball Show, including a Bally Bikini, United Serenade (only one known to exist), Bally Nightclub, and Bally Miss Universe

    high confidence · Nicholas Backbone announcing upcoming exhibit details

  • Dennis Stoetl will bring a new-in-the-box Silver Sails for unboxing at York Show on Friday at 10:30 a.m.

    high confidence · Nicholas Backbone detailing York Show events

Notable Quotes

  • “These are nice folks and I've enjoyed spending time with them, what little time I was able to spend with them.”

    Nicholas Backbone @ ~15:00 — Personal reflection on meeting Wayne Nyans and other industry figures at Nyans' 100th birthday party

  • “It's really a phenomenal piece and I would encourage anybody who has any interest whatsoever in EMs and especially those of you who don't have any interest in EMs to run out and pick this up because it will give you an appreciation for EMs as well as how the games are played.”

    Nicholas Backbone @ ~10:30 — Strong endorsement of Pinball Magazine #5's educational value and accessibility

  • “The choice between action on the playfield and action on the back glass was apparently usually very clear.”

    Nicholas Backbone @ ~8:20 — Insight into Gottlieb design philosophy regarding cost-benefit tradeoffs between playfield and backglass features

  • “By playing all six horses which require six coins, the player is assured of a two replay winner with the finishing horse and the possibility of winning an extra coin.”

    Nicholas Backbone (quoting promotional material) @ ~32:00 — Direct quote from United Steeplechase promotional materials detailing the multi-coin replay incentive system

  • “I would love to see this in operation. It looks really cool. Uh, and quite different.”

    Nicholas Backbone @ ~37:00 — Enthusiasm for the unique pulley-driven horse mechanism in United Steeplechase

Entities

Wayne NyanspersonJonathan EustonpersonGordon HassepersonNicholas BackbonepersonSteve YoungpersonDennis StoetlpersonScott DenisipersonRyan QuaterpersonDavid Gottliebperson

Signals

  • ?

    content_signal: Pinball Magazine #5 published with comprehensive 360-page retrospective on Wayne Nyans, reaching significant audience with in-depth historical coverage

    high · Nicholas Backbone's detailed review of Pinball Magazine #5, multiple interviews and articles featuring Wayne Nyans, coordinated with Wayne's 100th birthday

  • ?

    event_signal: York Pinball Show (October 12-13, 2018) featuring significant rare bingo and early pinball machines, including United Serenade (only one known to exist) and new-in-the-box Silver Sails unboxing

    high · Multiple rare machines confirmed for exhibit; organized unboxing event with multi-angle video documentation planned

  • ?

    historical_signal: Wayne Nyans career documentation through game-by-game interview and photographic archive of prototype whitewoods showing design evolution and alternative titles

    high · Pinball Magazine #5 includes extensive whitewood photos showing various game iterations with different names, demonstrating iterative design process at Gottlieb

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Gottlieb design philosophy prioritized playfield action over backglass animations due to cost constraints; design choices were iterative with title/concept variations

    medium · Nicholas Backbone discussing information from Wayne Nyans interviews about design choices and cost considerations affecting backglass features

  • ?

    design_innovation: United Steeplechase employed pulley-driven horse racing mechanism as alternative to Williams/Bally clutch-driven systems, representing unique technical approach

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.085

0:00
What's that sound? It's for amusement only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. I finished packing up for the York Pinball Show which is happening October the 12th and 13th of 2018 and I'm headed up there and I'm bringing with me the MultiBingo and United's Caravan. Both will be available in the Free Play section and if I'm able to pack them safely, I'll bring two ancillary playfields for the MultiBingo. On top of the MultiBingo, which has 142 different bingo pinball machines that were all manufactured in the United States between 1951 and 1981, there is going to be an unboxing and not just Just any unboxing. In Bingo Row, Dennis Stoetl is bringing his new in-the-box Silver Sails and it will be unboxed Friday at 10.30 a.m. Please make sure if you're able to come and see the unboxing. I have several volunteers which are going to film from different angles and I will compile the videos and edit them together to provide a seamless YouTube video. And I'll upload that once all the editing's complete.
1:29
So, this year's York Show is a don't miss event. I know several titles which are going to be there. A Bally Bikini, a United Serenade, which is the only one known to exist, a Bally Nightclub, and a Bally Miss Universe. There will likely be other games there as well. The titles tend to be a little bit in flux as we get this close to the show, so we'll see what shows up there. Those are the ones that I know for sure are coming, and I hope to see you all there as well. If you see me, come up, say hi, and attempt to get four or five in a row on any of the machines in Bingo Row for your chance to win a signed, limited edition print of the Bingo Row artwork. Very excited with how this came out, and big thanks to Ryan Quater, the artist that I commissioned to do the design and also the print itself. The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental and unintentional.
3:08
Number five, which features a career retrospective on Wayne Nyans along with very thorough interviews and a wonderful forward and retrospective article by Gordon Hasse. Gordon and Wayne have both been on the show in prior episodes and are wonderful people to talk to and wonderful people to know. Gordon is a long-time collector and player and admirer of pinball machines and Gottlieb in particular. And Wayne Nyans, of course, is the designer of many of Gottlieb's pinball machines for decades. He worked designing games and building games, testing games, overseeing factory operations as chief engineer. He really had a long and storied career at Gottlieb and before that at a smaller manufacturer called Western Equipment and Supply. In my interview with Wayne, I talked about some of his early days and how he kind of I got a start in coin op and his time during the depression and Gordon goes over some of those stories in slightly greater detail and definitely well worth a read. Gordon also includes photos and information about Western such as photos from Jimmy Johnson's Playland Park by Ed Guida and various flyers Knapp Arcade is a place where you can find pictures and photos of games are sprinkled throughout the narrative. His article is fantastic and a great introduction and recognition of Wayne Nyans and his contributions to pinball as well as to Gottlieb. There's also information about the Gottlieb family. Backtalking of fanficylene reactions at St Eleven своей mouvementholders Another interesting thing is that there are photos of the Whitewoods of various games that Wayne Nines designed and those make me smile from ear to ear. I don't know if you can hear it, but they're just phenomenal pieces of time, which I would have thought would be lost to history, but they include the sample artwork that Wayne Nines designed. The the games which of course would be used or ignored by really parker as uh... as the winds took him so com in one particularly memorable instance others arabian nights the white wooden actually has a name daisy may and it's interesting to me uh... how many these white woods with The title of the game, with different names, went on to be produced as a completely different title later on, usually also designed by Wayne Nines. So, the company itself, David Gottlieb in particular, had the final say on what the title of the games were going to be, and Wayne's idea didn't always make it. However he did have a lot of latitude on how the game played and was percentage and so forth And that is spoken to in the article as well
Pinball Magazine
organization
Gottliebcompany
Western Equipment and Supplycompany
Unitedcompany
Williamscompany
Ballycompany
Straight Down the Middle: a pinball showorganization
York Pinball Showevent
Rain City Free Playorganization
MultiBingoproduct
For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcastorganization
Pinball Resourceorganization
Internet Pinball Databaseorganization
United Steeplechaseproduct
Silver Sailsproduct
Fun with Pinballorganization

medium · Nicholas Backbone analyzing backbox photos from Internet Pinball Database showing pulley system configuration distinct from competitor approaches

  • ?

    restoration_signal: MultiBingo traveling exhibit preserves 142 bingo pinball machines (1951-1981) through public display and engagement at major pinball shows

    high · Nicholas Backbone organizing MultiBingo with ancillary playfields for York Show, documenting rare machines through video and exhibition

  • ?

    community_signal: Active collector community gathering rare machines at York Show with organized activities (unboxing events, competitive play challenges, limited edition artwork prizes)

    high · Dennis Stoetl's new-in-the-box Silver Sails unboxing, Bingo Row artwork challenge for attendees, multiple volunteer videographers documenting the event

  • $

    market_signal: Pinball Magazine establishing itself as authoritative industry publication with major retrospective content; physical distribution through specialty retailers and international shipping

    high · 360-page Issue #5 available through Pinball Resource and online ordering; international shipping from Europe; Nicholas Backbone's strong recommendation suggests market impact

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Wayne Nyans receiving major career retrospective at age 100, with coordinated interviews, artistic documentation, and community celebration marking his contributions to Gottlieb and pinball industry

    high · Pinball Magazine #5 timing coincides with Wayne Nyans' 100th birthday; Nicholas Backbone attended birthday party with other industry figures; extensive career documentation

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: United Steeplechase demonstrates vintage replay/multi-coin incentive mechanics offering substantial rewards (up to 100 replays) for coordinated multi-coin play strategy

    high · Promotional materials showing 6-coin play guarantees 2-replay minimum with possibility of 8, 12, 20, or 100 replay top awards based on horse selection and bet level

  • ?

    design_philosophy: United Steeplechase cabinet artwork features incongruent imagery (football player, speedboats, sailboats, race car) rather than horse-racing theme, suggesting possible artwork reuse from other games

    medium · Nicholas Backbone noting mismatch between game theme (steeplechase) and cabinet art, speculating about stencil reuse but unable to confirm source

  • ?

    historical_signal: Gottlieb designed games like Texan specifically at request of regional operators and distributors in Texas market, indicating location-specific game development strategy

    medium · Information from Wayne Nyans interview in Pinball Magazine #5 discussing regional market influence on game design decisions

    • 7:12
    There's also a very wide-ranging interview that begins right after Gordon's introductory article and
    7:21
    it talks about everything from his design of the free play unit and All this stuff and his initial drawings for western and his time growing up as a boy all the way through his days as Chief Engineer and all the games that came in between and I really have to give Jonathan Euston a lot of credit for this magazine because he went through game by game and tried to get stories from the characters that he had seen in the comics Some little nugget of information from Wayne. And Wayne obliged most of the time. He, in some cases, he's reviewing what is on the playfield and just saying things like, that's an interesting design or, you know, I wonder how I came up with that or things like that. But other times, he has quite a bit of information to share about how he came up with the idea for that particular game, or how the targets were The game is a game that is based on a set of shots that are arranged from one layout to another in order to create this entirely new game with an entirely new set of shots or features. It's a fascinating read. Fascinating. Wayne also talks about the rise of the multiplayer game and its rise in popularity, especially in certain territories. I find that to be a very intriguing point. I find that to be a very intriguing bit of information. For example, the game Texan was made primarily at the request of operators and distributors in the Texas market. And information about Ataballs, how the games played and so forth, information about backglass Fun and animations and mechanical units,
    9:24
    Many were Costed out of games from the sounds of things which makes perfect sense. That's a very expensive Thing that doesn't add to the actual playability at the game Of course, they are beautiful to look at and great fun while you're playing
    9:40
    But when you have to make the choice between action on the playfield and action on the back glass The choice was apparently usually very clear There's some information about the gambling Games and information about New DailyRaces and various other games that Gottlieb built. There's even a photo, a promotional photo of Gottlieb, David Gottlieb and Wayne Nyans standing beside two NewDailyRaces, The time find very cool is information about games like sweet adeline which definitely have a bingo influence uh... as well as the ability to pay the credit real that's gotta be some feeling i've never played that game but that is high up my wish list all kinds of information everything The most important piece that you can think you could possibly ask and more is really encompassed in not only this interview but Gordon's initial article as well as other retrospectives on Wayne Nines' career which follow the interview. So there is quite a bit of information about Wayne Nines and his career and work within this magazine. It's really a phenomenal piece and I would encourage anybody who has any interest whatsoever in EMs and especially those of you who don't have any interest in EMs to run out and pick this up because it will give you an appreciation for EMs as well as how the games are played. You know, what makes them fascinating, what makes this one different from another one. Uh, boy, these all seem like slow clunkers, you know, that is not something that you'll say after having read, uh, a couple hundred pages about, um, how these games are so different from each other. Um, and even something as simple as being able to look at the playfield layouts for each of the games, uh, it sounds, uh, cheesy or trite, uh, that that would be helpful. I would say, especially if you're just starting out, that that is one of the more fascinating things, to look at how varied the designs are by a single designer. And you'll see similarities. There will be pieces which are used kind of from game to game, and then they'll be scrapped and something new will take its place. Um... This uh... kind of iterative design is also fascinating to me. Um... So... aside from all this information, there's information about the roto targets uh... which are one of my personal favorites and apparently Wayne's as well and uh... the double award feature uh... which is only used on a small number of games but is one of my favorite gimmicks, I guess, of the nineteen fifties uh... being able to put in a second coin and in that vein there's information about a game that maybe had a multi-coin influence all that and more is in here and so much more it's it's really hard to describe in words just how much information is in here uh... It's done, I suppose, within the magazine. So I would encourage, again, everybody to pick this up, give it a look, and let me know what you think. I am truly impressed. Beyond the information on Wayne, there's also an interview with Steve Young, who has also been on the show. Steve Young is the owner of the Pinball Resource Up in New York and supplies many pinball parts to all of us. And it is always interesting to hear his take on the hobby business everything about uh the industry Steve has a lot of knowledge is another person that I truly enjoy talking to for all these reasons and more definitely pick this up uh... I was lucky enough to meet some of the people who speak about Wayne Nyans in this issue at Wayne's 100th birthday party and it's great to be able to read their words about Wayne as I got to hear their words about Wayne in person. These are nice folks and I've enjoyed spending time with them, what little time I was able Knapp Arcade is a free pinball magazine that is available to spend with them. Beyond that, this issue of Pinball Magazine does have some modern pinball information. And it includes an interview with Scott Denisi and various other personalities in modern pinball development. But the meat of the issue, the really exciting part for me is that this wide ranging Interview has been published on Wayne's 100th year on planet Earth. It's really pretty special. So again, I would encourage everybody to run out, pick this up and give it a read. If you're headed up to York, hopefully there will be a copy or two for sale. I know the pinball resource has copies and you can order them from Steve. You can also order at pinballmagazine.com and it is shipped from Europe so it takes a little while to ship and also to arrive over here but it is worth the wait. I don't think I mentioned but it's 360 pages so the word magazine is a bit of a stretch. It is quite weighty, quite meaty, but worth the read, worth every page. So, again, check that out and let me know what you think. If you have anything to add about Wayne Nines, feel free to pass that on. I've, as I say, enjoyed speaking with the man, spending time with the man, And I am truly appreciative for the time that I was able to do those things. So, today's game is 1952's United Steeplechase. You may be familiar with the horse race animations in various games that are made by Williams. This is the only one that I know of that was made by United. And United typically had different mechanisms, you know, actual mechanical units than their counterparts at Williams or Bally. So when I saw this game it really stuck out for me for a couple reasons. One, it's a United game with the horse race animation which I think is pretty unique. And two, as a United there's probably some additional player appeal to this game than your typical flipper game where the horse is selected either at random or by hitting The appropriately numbered bumper and off you go. Well in this case, the playfield layout is comprised of many different bumpers and they're cascading downwards in a flipperless layout. It's reminiscent of a flipperless game. The game does not have flippers, in fact, but it does have several kickout holes and two double-stacked rebound rubbers down near the bottom, which can be used to bounce the ball with great force back up towards the center kickout hole or either of the side kickout pockets. The different bumpers, unfortunately, I'm not certain of their use. Now, I can guess that they advance the horses on the back glass, but I don't know scoring, for example, how many points are awarded per bumper, for example, or if points are even a thing on this game. On the back glass, which is shown on IPDB, there are not backlit scoring sections that are visible just by looking at the glass. However, if you look at the lightbox, you can see that there are many different lamps which are placed throughout the backbox in more than just the areas which are outlined in the artwork. So you have a selected horse or more than one selected horse. I'll get to that in a second. And then you have a racetrack showing who has finished of the six horses. And you have some artwork of horses doing a steeplechase, which is pretty detailed and very cool looking. And then this cutout window so that you can see the horse mechanism of the six horses. And we'll talk about that mechanism here in a second. The reason I suspect that there are points of some kind or at least replay views is again looking at the whiteboard behind the back glass you can see that there are different lit sections and numbers going up and down the left and right hand side now those may just count replays so I'm not certain if there are any points involved or not however it stands There is a reason that there would be at least some points awarded because of things like the kick out holes Looking at the playfield and what I can see the center kick out pocket appears to award 20 positions which seems like an awful lot and each of the side kick out pockets award 5 positions So your horses advance that many times The horse that advances is most likely selected by bumper But your selection is not made by bumper Your selection is made by coin This is a multi game and you can put in up to six coins
    21:36
    Now, as a player, why would you want to do that? The answer is because of the number You can get a tremendous number of replays on this game for having the correct finisher and also how many coins you put in will determine how many replays you win. So as the promotional letter says, by playing all six horses which require six coins, the player is assured of a two replay winner with the finishing horse and the possibility of winning an extra coin. Possibility of winning 8, 12, 20 or the top award of 100 replays. A finishing horse each game plus the 100 replay top award act as a terrific incentive for 6-coin play.
    22:25
    That sounds crazy. 100 replays? That would be something to see on a game like this. So let's talk about the mechanism a little bit and then we'll talk about the artwork I'm just a very little bit because there's not much of it that I can see except for the cabinet. But the mechanism itself actually wins its way through the backbox. Looking at the backbox photo on IPDB, you have several united steppers, all of sturdy, all-metal construction, very large gearing in the center. And up above them, you have the tracks for the horses to ride on. The horses are pulled along by pulley. A fairly simple thing. But the pulleys actually went their way behind the steppers and between various other pieces of the backbox and the edges of the mechanism itself. And I find this extremely fascinating. I would love to see this in operation. It looks really cool. Uh, and quite different. So, uh, Williams, uh, where is it, Valley? Williams, uh, had a clutch-driven affair for their, uh, horse race mechanism, and Valley had something which strikes me as similar at the moment, um, clutch-driven. But this appears to be pulley-driven and therefore simpler. Uh, of course your problem here is shown in the backbox photo glad to see Graphics Credits are moving up and they Spanish In the comments I also first related people missed Dark Day was in. Um, so I'd be curious to see this in operation as I say. Alright, looking at the artwork, uh, you have some fairly interesting and dynamic, I guess you'd say, artwork for the cabinet. Um, this must have been a stencil that was used on something else. I'm not able to find what it is at the moment, uh, but boy, it's odd. So steeplechase you'd assume horse race, right? You'd think jockeys riding on horses around some kind of track would be the logical cabinet artwork. Well, you'd be wrong. In steeplechase's case, you have a football player, you have two speedboats and three sailboats, you have a race car, you have a train, you have what appears to be a buoy for a boat race. Titbullje or
    25:36
    Niorski. The Divide Dive the Reinygusal 5 The two conspiring would legs in the front you've got uh... the wouldn surrounds on playfield glass and then you've got on this huge back box so again uh... i would love to know the decision behind that but this game looks really cool and i would love to play it it's a bit of a novelty so i could see it getting I'm a bit old in a collection unless you have people over to play fairly frequently.
    26:58
    Because I could see this being a great competitive game. If you're guaranteed an award, if you play all six coins, having it on free play would make it of limited excitement in a home collection. But again, the multiplayer aspect makes it very interesting.
    27:19
    Looking at the front of the game, it's got The typical coin acceptance mechanism of time, drop shoot, and the plunger that lifts up the ball is the spoon type. So you push down on this thing, which is shaped like a spoon with your thumb, and the ball jumps up into the shooter lane. Works exactly the same as the secondary plunger, but it's a little less confusing, I guess, than that secondary plunger for a new player. Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you very much for joining me. My name again is Nick Baldridge. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com. You can listen to me on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Pocket Casts via RSS on Facebook, on Twitter at bingopodcast. You can follow me on Instagram also at bingopodcast or you can reach me on my website which is 4amusementonly.libsyn.com. Thank you very much for listening. Please come out to the York Show, say hello to me, play the Multicast, Win a prize and I'll talk to you next time.