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The 1935 O.D. Jennings 'Sportsman' -
is it a payout pinball or a slot machine?
You be the judge...
is it a payout pinball or a slot machine?
You be the judge...
right) 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 left) and Huck Finn that other, more gaudy machines seem to lack.
But the Sportsman's beauty is not just 'skin deep', there are some interesting things inside the cabinet
too. For instance, the Sportsman and its cousins are hybrids - partially mechanical and battery
powered. The payout relays, switches, and the 'visible' tilt mechanism in the lower right front of the
machine's 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 in the two photos 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 real mechanical slot machine when it pays out... which also like a slot it
doesn't do very often.
These are views of
the Sportsman's mechanical
payout mechanism looking down from the sides
of the machine. The relays at the top of the photos
act as movable stops for the payout - each relay
stops the corresponding geared rack from moving
too far for each payout cycle.
The Sportsman uses a rotary 'slicer' disc. The disc is exactly three nickels wide, and there is four holes
in the disc, so the Sportsman can pay out a maximum of twelve coins at a time.
payout mechanism looking down from the sides
of the machine. The relays at the top of the photos
act as movable stops for the payout - each relay
stops the corresponding geared rack from moving
too far for each payout cycle.
The Sportsman uses a rotary 'slicer' disc. The disc is exactly three nickels wide, and there is four holes
in the disc, so the Sportsman can pay out a maximum of twelve coins at a time.
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 four chrome caps surrounding the hunter figure in the playfield photo above left are 'difficulty adjusters' - the holes they are in are actually
strategically placed to catch as many balls as possible. The operator could either remove all of the caps and make the game very difficult to play, or leave them in place to make the odds better for the player.
Here is a strange
variant of the Sportsman only Jimmy Buffett could love...
called Treasure Pirate. Not very much is known about this machine,
but here are two photos. I was told that this may have been a 'repainted'
Sportsman, but actually I'm not sure.
The photo at lower left shows the leg and payout handle details for this
machine, which is much different that the Flying Turf at the top of this page.
For instance, the Flying Turf has a set of round legs with beautiful metal
castings, and the payout handle on the Treasure Pirate, due to the bends in it,
would be much longer if straightened than the one on a Sportsman.
called Treasure Pirate. Not very much is known about this machine,
but here are two photos. I was told that this may have been a 'repainted'
Sportsman, but actually I'm not sure.
The photo at lower left shows the leg and payout handle details for this
machine, which is much different that the Flying Turf at the top of this page.
For instance, the Flying Turf has a set of round legs with beautiful metal
castings, and the payout handle on the Treasure Pirate, due to the bends in it,
would be much longer if straightened than the one on a Sportsman.
There are other
interesting O.D.
Jennings pinball machines
available, including Wall Street.
There is also a fascinating
variant of the Sportsman that is
without a payout or the metal front casting, but instead has a solid wooden front and a early
electrically lighted
backglass!
Jennings pinball machines
available, including Wall Street.
There is also a fascinating
variant of the Sportsman that is
without a payout or the metal front casting, but instead has a solid wooden front and a early
electrically lighted
backglass!
ILooking back, the O.D. Jennings payout pinball
machines are fascinating machines to play, and in my opinion the
Sportsman type
models are some of the best payout pinball machines ever made.
models are some of the best payout pinball machines ever made.