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Average Fun Rating: | 7.5/10 (45 ratings/33 comments) [ Add Your Rating! ] | |||||
Manufacturer: | D. Gottlieb & Company (1931-1977) [Trade Name: Gottlieb] | |||||
Date Of Manufacture: | September, 1965 | |||||
Model Number: | 217 | |||||
Type: | Electro-mechanical (EM) | |||||
Production: | 3,400 units (confirmed) | |||||
Serial Number Database: | View at The Internet Pinball Serial Number Database (IPSND.net) (External site) | |||||
Theme: | Sports - Billiards | |||||
Specialty: | Mechanical Backbox Animation | |||||
Notable Features: | Flippers (2), Pop bumpers (3), Slingshots (2), Standup targets (7). Two backbox animations: at start of game, billiard table in backglass shows all balls lit up and all mechanical balls above it are reset out of view. Hitting lit numbered target on playfield turns off corresponding lit ball in backglass and mechanically drops that ball into view. Maximum displayed score is 1,999 points. Replay wheel maximum: 15 Sound: 3 bells, knocker | |||||
Design by: | Ed Krynski | |||||
Art by: | Roy Parker | |||||
Notes: | The Add-a-ball version of this game is Gottlieb's 1965 'Flipper Pool'. 'Bank-A-Ball' was the first pinball machine produced with flipper return lanes, which are wireforms that allow the ball to roll behind the slingshot and towards a waiting flipper. According to the book All About Pinball, Paradise and its add-a-ball version Pleasure Isle were the first games designed to have return lanes. However, Gottlieb rescheduled the production of Bank-A-Ball so that it could be released first. Pictured in this listing are Early Production playfields that mat The backbox on this game is sufficiently crowded with mechanisms such that there was no room on the back of the insert for the connector jacks to be installed to allow the playfield plugs to connect to them there. Instead, the connectors were placed onto a separate "plug mounting panel" that just hangs down into the cabinet through the access hole between the backbox and the cabinet. Because of this, Gottlieb affixed to the inside bottom of the backbox an Assembly Instructions card to assist the operator with proper placement of this separate panel to allow the insert to be lowered to its service position without obstruction. The example card pictured here is A-9487-1 and was stapled inside a Bank-A-Ball backbox even though the card carries the Model Number 222 for the game that immediately preceded it in production, the 4-player 'Dodge City'. | |||||
Photos in: |
Pinball Collectors' Quarterly, Issue 4, front cover, pages 2, 5, and 6 Arcade Treasures, page 64 The Pinball Compendium 1930s - 1960s, page 180 The Complete Pinball Book, page 201 Mike Pacak's Pinball Flyer Reference Book A-F | |||||
Owners List URL: | http://www.pinballowners.com/owners/170 (External site) | |||||
Documentation: | 1 MB | Schematic Diagram (1 Coin Adj for 1 or 2 Plays - France, continuous) (Availability limited by copyright) | [D. Gottlieb & Co.] | |||
Files: | 386 KB | Backbox Assembly Instruction Card (color and bleached copies) (Availability limited by copyright) | [D. Gottlieb & Co.] | |||
Images: (click to zoom) | ||||||
Source: | Photo |
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