| |
|
|
|
|
Back |
Home |
The 1935 O.D. Jennings 'Sportsman' type payout pinball is in
my opinion one of the most beautiful EM pinball machines ever made, and one of the best designed as well. From the cast metal front and leg brackets to the carved cabinetry and playfield that
looks hand painted, the entire machine looks like a work of art.
There seems to be a sense of 'class' to this machine and its cousins Flying Turf (shown below) and Huck Finn that other, more gaudy machines seem to lack.
But the Sportsman's beautyis
not just 'skin deep', there are
some interesting things inside the cabinet too. For instance, the Sportsman and its cousins are partially battery powered - the payout relays, switches, and the 'visible' tilt mechanism in the lower right front of the playfield are all powered by
the bank of Number 6 dry cells
shown in the photo at right,
some interesting things inside the cabinet too. For instance, the Sportsman and its cousins are partially battery powered - the payout relays, switches, and the 'visible' tilt mechanism in the lower right front of the playfield are all powered by
the bank of Number 6 dry cells
shown in the photo at right,
while the 'windup' mechanical payout mechanism (shown below) is powered
by the rather suspiciously slotmachine looking handle at the lower right front
of the cabinet in the photo at left. It even sounds like a mechanical
slot machine when it pays out... which also like a
slot it doesn't do very often.
However, the best part of the Sportsman isn't the looks or the technology... it's
the play. There are ten balls for five cents, and you must shoot your balls into the scoring holes to win. OK... but there is a catch. The hunter at the top of the playfield is a 'skill shot' hole, and you must make this shot during your game to have any chance of winning at all. Once you sink a ball in the hunter, you have a choice of targets to try for, from two rabbits or ducks for three tokens, or three squirrels for six tokens, pheasants for nine tokens, or partridges for twelve. You must hit every target in a specific group plus the 'hunter' to win. If the Sportsman is set up to pay out in nickels, the top prize was twentyseven coins or $1.35. To achieve this score, you had to put a ball in the 'hunter' hole, three in the 'partridge' holes, three in the 'pheasant' holes, and three in the 'rabbit' holes. You had to push the lever down as soon as each combination was made, since the Sportsman's payout mechanism was set up to pay out twelve coins maximum at a time.
The O.D. Jennings payout pinball machines are fascinating machines to play, and IMHO the Sportsman
models are some of the best payout pinball machines ever made.