Editing Pinball (section)

===1931: Coin operation introduced===
[[File:Flipper1948.jpg|thumb|250px|An early pinball game without flippers, c. 1932]]

By the 1930s, manufacturers were producing coin-operated versions of bagatelles, now known as "marble games" or "pin games". The table was under glass and used Montague Redgrave's plunger device to propel the ball into the upper playfield.<ref>{{cite book|title=Amazing Facts - The Indispensable Collection of True Life Facts and Feats|date=October 1991 |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company|page=221|isbn=978-0-884-86043-3}}</ref> In 1931 David Gottlieb's ''[[Baffle Ball]]'' became the first hit of the coin-operated era. Selling for $17.50, the game dispensed five to seven balls for a penny.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-01-21 |title=The Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, NV - Episode 209 |url=http://www.travelthruhistory.tv/pinball-hall-fame-las-vegas-nv-episode-209/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Travel Thru History |language=en-US}}</ref> At its peak, Gottlieb produced 400 ''Baffle Ball'' machines per day and establishing the company as the first major manufacturer of pinball machines.<ref name="bk-pinball"/>{{rp|33}}

In 1932, Gottlieb distributor [[Raymond Moloney]] found it hard to obtain more Baffle Ball units to sell. In his frustration he founded Lion Manufacturing to produce a game of his design, ''Ballyhoo'', named after a popular magazine. The game became a smash hit. Its larger playfield and ten pockets made it more challenging than ''Baffle Ball'', selling 50,000 units in 7 months.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scholzroland.de/VPStuff/BALLYHOO.htm |title=Ballyhoo |publisher=Scholzroland.de |date=April 2, 1932 |access-date=October 27, 2012}}</ref> Moloney eventually changed the name of his company to [[Bally Manufacturing|Bally]] to reflect the success of this game. These early machines were relatively small, mechanically simple and designed to sit on a counter or bar top.