1977 Evel Knievel Pinball Machine by Bally
Anybody can jump a motorcycle. The trouble begins when you try to land it.’
So said the legendary Evel Knievel, who was less well known for his armchair philosophy than he was for his stunts but did manage to deliver a few pearls of wisdom in his quieter moments. (Specialist subject: ‘the bleedin’ obvious’, we must assume) After all, what else are you going to do when you’re flat on your back in a hospital bed for months on end with nothing to do but ponder the meaning of life?
Thankfully Evel’s daring exploits inspired Bally to create this terrific pinball table, which was conceived in 1976 and hit the production line in ’77. With a design by Gary Gayton and superb artwork by Paul Faris it was destined to be a success, and like the character on whom it was based, the table did indeed ‘take off’, selling out the entire production run of 14,000 units.
A quick trawl though the owners and users forums suggests that although this wasn’t the fastest or most sophisticated table ever, it had a compulsive quality that kept people coming back for more. The comment ‘played it death’ appears more than a few times! Faris’s artwork for the back glass also wins much praise, but to fully appreciate his efforts you’d need to set aside any politically correct concerns about the depiction of large chested women in tight tee shirts. I think we can say that this table was very much ‘of its time’ and leave it at that.
Like all our ’70’s pinballs, this table has been completely refurbished and is in full working order, unlike the great man himself. Perhaps we should give him the final word:
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