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Rob Lahammer's 1934 Rockola World Series 
Photos by Rob Lahammer
This pinball machine was a technical marvel when it first came out in
1934. This is a totally mechanical machine, all energy used by this machine during play is generated simply by pushing the ball lifter to move the ball up to the playfield.
The green disk in the middle of the playfield is the 'diamond', and the
pinballs themselves are the baserunners. 'Home plate' is at the top of the disk next to the casting in the middle of the playfield. Your score is tallied by where the pinball lands in the casting - a ball landing in the middle section is a 'hit' and goes into the hole at 'home plate', and the disk then rotates to the player's next base. When a 'baserunner' gets to home plate, a mechanism sends the ball to a 'runs' pocket on the playfield.
The 'baserunning' mechanism is ingenious by itself, because inside of this is a mechanism that can control exactly how far the 'baserunner' moves at a time. This means that a 'hit' ball can randomly earn either a single, double, or triple, or even a home run!
This machine also has another interesting
innovation - a marquee. A marquee is a forerunner of the backglass found on more modern pinballs. This one lists how many 'skill points' you can win with certain amounts of hits, and how much a game costs to play.
This is a rather easy machine to find, even today, because over 50,000 were produced. Unfortunately, it has a very complex mechanism and is not easy to fix or mechanically very durable. However, for those who enjoy a challenging and rewarding restoration, the Rockola 1934 World Series is a fine game.
copyright 2005 by rob lahammer - all rights reserved
Photos by Rob Lahammer
This pinball machine was a technical marvel when it first came out in
1934. This is a totally mechanical machine, all energy used by this machine during play is generated simply by pushing the ball lifter to move the ball up to the playfield.
The green disk in the middle of the playfield is the 'diamond', and the
pinballs themselves are the baserunners. 'Home plate' is at the top of the disk next to the casting in the middle of the playfield. Your score is tallied by where the pinball lands in the casting - a ball landing in the middle section is a 'hit' and goes into the hole at 'home plate', and the disk then rotates to the player's next base. When a 'baserunner' gets to home plate, a mechanism sends the ball to a 'runs' pocket on the playfield.
The 'baserunning' mechanism is ingenious by itself, because inside of this is a mechanism that can control exactly how far the 'baserunner' moves at a time. This means that a 'hit' ball can randomly earn either a single, double, or triple, or even a home run!
This machine also has another interestinginnovation - a marquee. A marquee is a forerunner of the backglass found on more modern pinballs. This one lists how many 'skill points' you can win with certain amounts of hits, and how much a game costs to play.
This is a rather easy machine to find, even today, because over 50,000 were produced. Unfortunately, it has a very complex mechanism and is not easy to fix or mechanically very durable. However, for those who enjoy a challenging and rewarding restoration, the Rockola 1934 World Series is a fine game.
copyright 2005 by rob lahammer - all rights reserved