THE RENEGADE OF PINBALL’S GOLDEN AGE

Pinball News Website·article·analyzed·Mar 10, 2018

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.032

TL;DR

Ted Zale: prolific Bally designer who revolutionized pinball mechanics (1963–1970s).

Summary

A historical biography of Ted Zale (born Thaddeus Zalewski, 1901–date unknown), a prolific and innovative pinball designer at Bally Manufacturing who pioneered numerous mechanical and electrical standardizations in pinball during the 1960s–early 1970s. The article chronicles his early life, pre-pinball career, rapid rise at Bally after 1962, and his lasting design innovations including three-ball multiball, free-ball gates, mushroom bumpers, butterfly rollovers, zipper flippers, and playfield-integrated score reels. Despite his prolific output (one game every six weeks at peak), significant gaps in historical documentation remain regarding his pre-Bally work, exact retirement date, and the identity of artists who worked on uncredited early designs.

Key Claims

Ted Zale was born Thaddeus Zalewski on May 14, 1901, in Chicago, son of Polish immigrant Boleslaw Zalewski and first-generation American Anna Wasielewski.
high confidence · Introduction section: biographical documentation of birth, parents, and family background including siblings Casimer, Sophia, and Harriette.
Zale changed his last name from Zalewski to Zale sometime between 1920–1930, and 'Thad' became 'Ted' informally, though he continued using Thaddeus for legal purposes.
medium confidence · Introduction section notes name change timeline as uncertain; formal legal documentation not cited.
Zale worked at Genco Manufacturing Company (start date after 1940, ending July 1958) primarily on gun game designs, scoring his first patent (2,899,205) on a gun game.
medium confidence · Pre-Bally Years section; exact start date acknowledged as unknown; patent issued 1959 after Genco closed.
Zale joined Bally as Director of Design in mid-1962, citing frustration with his previous employer's 'hopelessly conservative' outlook.
high confidence · Pre-Bally Years section provides direct quote and job title.
On June 18, 1963, Zale called Steve Kordek at Williams Manufacturing, indicating that all engineers at Bally had been laid off three weeks prior and a company sale had stalled.
high confidence · Near-Early Departure from Bally section; primary source cited as note from Steve Kordek archives (Credit: Duncan Brown).
At peak productivity, Zale was turning out a new pinball game once every six weeks on average, with distinct layouts and mechanisms rather than recycled designs.
high confidence · Zale's Pinball Pioneering section; stated as characteristic of his prolific output.
Star-Jet (Bally, 1963) was the first pinball with three-ball multiball; Cross Country (1963) was first with passive free-ball gate; Hootenanny (1963) was first with active free-ball gate and modern mushroom bumper.
high confidence · Zale's Pinball Pioneering section provides detailed list of innovations with game titles and years.

Notable Quotes

“hopelessly conservative in outlook”
Ted Zale (paraphrased) @ Pre-Bally Years section — Zale's stated reason for leaving his pre-1962 employer; characterizes his design philosophy as innovative and risk-taking.
“all of the engineers had been laid off three weeks before, and that the new owners were supposed to have closed the deal to buy the company the previous Saturday. That closing did not happen”
Ted Zale (reported by Steve Kordek note) @ June 18, 1963 — Primary source evidence of Bally's financial crisis in 1963; documents Zale's potential concern about job security during company ownership transition.
“he studied under Zale for five years”
Jim Patla (paraphrased) @ Zale's Retirement & Continuing Design Work section — Direct confirmation of Zale's mentorship role and provides basis for estimating ~1970 retirement date.
“Zale sent in the Ro Go design to Bally”
Greg Kmiec (paraphrased) @ Uncredited Zale Games section — Confirms Zale's post-retirement design submissions to Bally, demonstrating continued creative involvement after formal departure.

Entities

Ted Zale (Thaddeus Zalewski)personBally Manufacturing CorporationcompanyGenco Manufacturing CompanycompanyWilliams Electronics Manufacturing CompanycompanyMidway Manufacturing CompanycompanyAdvertising Poster Company (Ad Posters)companyReproductions CompanycompanySteve Kordekperson

Signals

?
business_signal: Bally Manufacturing faced severe financial crisis in 1958–1963 following founder Ray Moloney's death (1958), involving company sale delays and mass engineer layoffs in early 1963.
high · Ray Moloney died 1958; company 'haemorrhaging money' and 'limp along for a few years'; by early 1963 'put up for sale'; Zale's June 18, 1963 call to Kordek reports engineers laid off 'three weeks before' and sale closing that 'did not happen.'
?
business_signal: Bally Manufacturing transitioned from primarily novelty/bingo/slot machines (pre-1962) to serious pinball competitor under Zale's direction, with the company ranking among the three largest pinball manufacturers by end of his tenure.
high · Article notes Bally was 'hopelessly conservative' prior to Zale's hire, had 'mostly' built slot/bingo/novelty games with only 'dabbling' in pinball; post-Zale, Bally became 'one of the three largest manufacturers of pinball games in the world.'
?
design_philosophy: Zale's prolific design approach (one game every six weeks at peak) involved distinct layouts and mechanisms rather than recycled designs, and mentoring of subsequent designers (Jim Patla) at Bally.
high · Direct statement: 'he was turning out a new game once every six weeks on average—and he did not simply recycle old layout and mechanisms with new artwork.' Jim Patla 'studied under Zale for five years.'
?
historical_signal: Significant gaps in historical record regarding Ted Zale's career, including unclear start date at Genco, missing employment records between Genco closure (1958) and Bally hire (1962), unknown retirement date, and identity of uncredited artists on early games.
high · Multiple sections acknowledge 'mysteries' and missing documentation: 'it is not yet known exactly when Zale actually started with Genco', 'What Zale did for employment between July of 1958 and 1962 is not entirely clear', 'it is not entirely clear when exactly Zale retired from Bally', and chart showing high quantity of games with no credited artist.

Topics

Ted Zale biography and family historyprimaryZale's mechanical and electrical innovations in pinballprimaryBally Manufacturing history and financial crisis (1958–1963)primaryZale's design methodology and prolific outputprimaryUncredited artists and design attribution mysteriessecondaryGenco Manufacturing and gun game design worksecondaryPost-retirement design submissions by ZalesecondaryPinball designer legacy and industry influencesecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Article presents Zale as a pioneering innovator and influential designer deserving of historical recognition and respect comparable to Kordek, Lawlor, Ritchie, and Williams. Tone is respectful and admiring, though tempered by acknowledgment of historical gaps and mysteries. Some frustration is expressed about poor documentation and lost records.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

The Ted Zale Story By Dr. Steven Doellefeld and Dennis Kriesel Introduction For most residents of Chicago, May 14, 1901 was a nothing more than a beautiful, warm Spring day. For Boleslaw Zalewski and his young wife Anna (Wasielewski), it was a day of celebration as they welcomed their first child into the world—a son they named Thaddeus. Boleslaw, a professional musician, was born near the border between Poland and Russia in 1876, and immigrated to the United States as a teen. His wife Anna was a first generation American, born in Nebraska, who married her husband soon after her 16th birthday. Boleslaw and Anna would go on to have three more children—Casimer, Sophia and Harriette—but it was Thaddeus who was destined for fame and fortune. Young Thaddeus, known as ‘Thad’ to his family and friends, had an apparently uneventful childhood, growing up in a large apartment building that would today probably be described as a tenement. He was whip-smart though, and managed to make his way into college, at least for a year, in an era when most children from working class families simply did not have that option available to them. In his early 20s, he married Muriel Kirsch, and in 1925 they had their only child (Robert). Sometime between 1920 and 1930, he decided to change his last name from the decidedly ethnic Zalewski to the andro-ethnic ‘Zale’, and at some point ‘Thad’ became ‘Ted’, though he continued to use Thad for legal purposes for the rest of his life. Ted and his young family were wanderers in the early 1930s—likely attributable to efforts to find work, and lived in no less than five cities between 1930 and 1934, doing whatever work he could find, including stints as an attendant, printer, restaurateur and in sales. By 1934, the marriage between Thad and Muriel had failed. He returned to Chicago, while she moved to Chickasha, Oklahoma with young Robert. Buying a home on Kingston Avenue, Ted settled into a career as a commercial printer, and by 1940 was the manager of the plant. Now approaching 40, Ted was soon to make a move that would be life changing, and though he never sought out the camera or the limelight, he was about to become famous anyway. The Pre-Bally Years While Zale is of course best known for his illustrious tenure at Bally Manufacturing Corporation, much of his early career and details of his life remain a mystery. It appears Zale’s start in amusement devices was actually with Genco Manufacturing Company. It is not yet known exactly when Zale actually started with Genco, other than it was sometime after 1940 (perhaps that information has been forever lost, though we may be able to narrow that date some when the 1950 U.S. Census records are released in 2022). While he may have had a hand in pinball game development, it is clear that he spent most of his time at Genco working on ‘gun game’ designs, and scored his first patent (2,899,205) on a gun game. His Genco tenure lasted until the company closed in July 1958 (ironically, the patent wasn’t issued until 1959, after Genco had closed). Zale joined Bally in mid-1962. What Zale did for employment between July of 1958 and 1962 is not entirely clear. One working hypothesis is that Zale joined the newly formed Midway Manufacturing Company upon their startup in 1958, and with the closure of Genco (and the two factories existing only blocks apart from one another) this would be an obvious transition option. Midway’s gun games are quite similar in operation to the games Zale worked on with Genco, which would make sense if he were doing them. However, the Midway records are scant and those that are publicly available during the early years are silent on much of the company’s design efforts. Perhaps there is an archive of extant Midway documents out there, but if it exists, the authors have been unable to locate them. Regardless, by late 1962, citing frustration with a company that was “hopelessly conservative in outlook”, the 61-year-old Zale moved on and secured a job as the Director of Design at Bally, as Bally returned to the pinball market in earnest after having built mostly slot machines, bingo machines, novelty games (such as 1960’s “Skill Score”) and only dabbling with a handful of flippered pinballs in the prior 20 years. Zale’s Near-Early Departure from Bally Zale’s time at Bally—and Bally’s return to the pinball market— were both nearly short-lived. Back in 1958 the founder of Bally Manufacturing Corporation, Ray Moloney, passed away. ![Billboard from 3rd March, 1958](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/learn/ted-zale-story/06-ted-zale-story.jpg) Billboard reports from 3rd March, 1958 The company continued to limp along for a few years, haemorrhaging money and selling off a number of assets, but by early 1963 things were pretty dire and the company was put up for sale. Recently, a note from the Steve Kordek archives has surfaced and it indicates that on June 18th of that year, Zale placed a phone call to Kordek at rival pinball manufacturer Williams. Presumably, Zale and Kordek knew each other from their time at Genco. Zale told Kordek that all of the engineers had been laid off three weeks before, and that the new owners were supposed to have closed the deal to buy the company the previous Saturday. That closing did not happen and Zale was likely concerned about being let go, and though the note does not say it explicitly, he may have been fishing for a job at Williams. ![Steve Kordek's note of his conversation with Ted Zale (Credit: Duncan Brown)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/learn/ted-zale-story/07-ted-zale-story.jpg) Steve Kordek’s note of his conversation with Ted Zale (Courtesy of Duncan Brown) That closing did finally happen a couple of weeks later, and a group of investors that included long time Bally Sales Manager Bill O’Donnell took over the company. O’Donnell was named President and he quickly increased the emphasis on building slot machines and other casino games, moving away from the bowlers, bingos and novelty games. ![Billboard article from 6th July, 1963](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/learn/ted-zale-story/05-ted-zale-story.gif) Billboard article from 6th July, 1963 The pinball division was more or less left to its own devices, and with Zale at the helm began to crank out new titles at an astronomical rate. Zale’s Pinball Pioneering Zale was prolific in regards to his pinball designs, quickly carrying Bally’s efforts to become a serious player in the pinball realm (rather than their historic focus on novelty and bingo games) and leading them to the forefront of the industry. At the peak of his creative productivity, he was turning out a new game once every six weeks on average—and he did not simply recycle old layout and mechanisms with new artwork. During this time he also pioneered a lot of interesting pinball concepts (some of which caught on, some of which were just notable ‘firsts’ in the industry). Noteworthy examples of Zale’s innovations include: While not the first to use 50 volts to power solenoids (Williams Electronic Manufacturing Company used that voltage earlier, albeit intermittently), Zale was the first to standardize at that voltage Zale standardized the voltage used by motors and transformers at 110 volts (U.S.)/220 volts (Europe) Star-Jet (Bally, 1963) was the first pin with three-ball multiball Cross Country (Bally, 1963) was the first pin with a passive ‘free ball’ gate Hootenanny (Bally, 1963) was the first pin with an active ‘free ball’ gate Hootenanny was also the first game to feature what is considered to be the modern mushroom bumper Grand Tour (Bally, 1964) was the first pin with butterfly rollovers Big Day (Bally, 1964) was the first pin to normalize the asymmetrical playfield Wild Wheels (Bally, 1966) was the first pin with score reels used in the playfield Six Sticks (Bally, 1966) was the first production pin to allow six players Loop the Loop (Bally, 1966) was the first modern pin to use a non-standard ball launch Bazaar (Bally, 1966) was the first pin to use ‘zipper flippers’, an invention he employed on numerous other pins, and that was copied by Williams on games like Daffy and Student Prince Dogies (Bally, 1968) was the first pin to use the ‘little pill’ rollover Nip-It (Bally, 1973) used his ‘Balligator’ invention, a form of ball catch Fireball (Bally, 1972) was the first pin to use spinning discs on the playfield – a feature that still turns up from time to time, most recently in 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean from Jersey Jack Pinball ![Partial playfield photo of Wild Wheels (Bally, 1966), the first pin with score reels within the playfield rather than just the backglass (Photo courtesy of Tom Rader)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/learn/ted-zale-story/01-ted-zale-story.jpg) Partial Rader) Zale and Pinball Art Pinball and its associated art go hand-in-hand, and given the prolific design approach Zale took he had a lot of different artists (at least seven) involved with his pin projects. Below is a chart providing a series of pinball artists and the number of Zale projects with which they were involved. ![The number of Zale projects various pinball artists worked on - note the high quantity without a credited artist](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/learn/ted-zale-story/03-ted-zale-story.png) The – note the high quantity without a credited artist As the chart indicates, a significant plurality of Zale pins did not credit any specific artist with the design work. It remains one of the more significant mysteries of Zale’s time with Bally. Here is another chart, looking at the information a different way: chronologically. As it reveals, most of the unknown artist games were in the earlier years of Zale’s tenure at Bally (notably 1963 through 1966). ![The number of Zale pins by year and involved artist - most of the unknown artist games appear during the 1963-1966 time-frame](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/learn/ted-zale-story/04-ted-zale-story.png) The – time-frame Advertising Poster Company (also known as Ad Posters, which did a lot of pinball art) is credited in the case of the unknown artist(s), but not the specific individual(s) involved. Zale, incidentally, did have a background in commercial printing before he entered the coin-op industry, so perhaps he had a prior professional relationship with Ad Posters in his past? Zale’s Retirement & Continuing Design Work In yet another mini-mystery, it is not entirely clear when exactly Zale retired from Bally. Protégé Jim Patla estimates it was around 1970, based on Patla’s own start with Bally around 1965 and his recollection that he studied under Zale for five years. This estimate seems reasonable, as a 1973 article in Tropic Magazine mentions that Zale had retired from Bally several years earlier. However, retirement did not mean for Zale what it means for most. He and his third wife, Inda, relocated to Arkansas, but he kept designing games and sending them in to Bally (not dissimilar to how Harry Williams continued to provide designs to Williams Manufacturing after his own departure from that company). Joust (Bally, 1969), Vampire (Bally, 1971) and Double-Up (Bally, 1970) are three examples of Zale games that Patla indicated were sent in post-retirement. Joust’s release date suggests it was slightly before 1970 that Zale formally left Bally, but no records have been found to confirm his actual departure. Uncredited Zale Games & Other Unknowns As prolific as he was, it is quite surprising how scant the historical record is and how many mysteries regarding his career persist to this day. For example, we are still left with the question of whether any games were released featuring his design work but not credited to him, as Bally did with other designers. A good case-in-point example involves Harry Williams, as records indicate he submitted games he titled Samoa and Bali-Hi to Bally, which were produced with little variation as Sea Ray (Bally, 1971) and Bali-Hi (Bally, 1973), respectively (both ultimately credited to Zale, incidentally). Examples that could have been based around Zale designs are 4 Queens (Bally, 1970), a game credited to Patla (though Patla noted in an interview that he was given Zale’s game and made modifications to it, as part of his training as a designer) and Ro Go (Bally, 1974), a game credited to Greg Kmiec (Kmiec stated in an interview that Zale sent in the Ro Go* design to Bally). Could there be others? ![Backglass and playfield of Star-Jet (Bally, 1963), the first pin with 3-ball multiball (Photo courtesy of Jeff Frick)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/learn/ted-zale-story/02-ted-zale-story.jpg) Backglass Frick) Aside from uncredited game designs and the aforementioned mystery artist(s) who worked on Zale games, there are a number of other interesting unknowns involving Zale. Most notably, that no publicly available photo of Zale exists at this time, but there are also a number of other interesting questions centering around his coin-op work. – When did Zale start with Genco? He made gun games with them and it is believed he stayed until Genco closed, but it isn’t clear how long that tenure was. – What did Zale do after leaving Genco and before joining Bally? As noted earlier, one theory is that he joined Midway (which would have been starting up around the time Genco closed its doors) and helped them with gun games, but no documentation has been found to confirm this. – What did Zale do for work before joining Genco? Did he work for Ad Posters? Perhaps for Ad Posters rival Reproductions Company who were also doing work for many of the pinball companies in this same time period? Perhaps the answers to many of these questions are out there, in some archives that have heretofore remained inaccessible publicly. Regardless, what we do know of Zale is he was a pioneering innovator when it came to pinball design – prolific in output and willing to take risks – and led a company from being basically uninvolved in pinball into its status as one of the three largest manufacturers of pinball games in the world. His legacy in pinball is felt today, and though many in the hobby may not know the name Zale, it warrants the same consideration and respect commanded by names like Kordek, Lawlor, Ritchie and Williams.