Automatic Age

INDUSTRY HAILS EVANS PLAY BALL
When H. C. Evans & Co.,
spoke the magic words of “ Bat­
ter Up” recently, and the new
coin machine sensation, “ Play
Ball” , made its official bow to
the world, from north, south,
east and west, the news was
hailed with a tremendous ova-
t i o n. Congratulations a n d
thanks poured in from leading
distributors and o p e r a t o r s
everywhere, say company offi­
cials. No game in coin machine
history was received with such
rousing welcome from the trade.
“ Play Ball introduces the
most ingenious achievement in
coin game engineering,” said
Rex Shriver, official of H. C.
Evans & Co., “ something engi­
neers for years have been
dreaming about, but hardly even
dared to hope for. A machine in
which a game of baseball is ac­
tually played, not by make-be­
lieve or makeshifts, but by
actual manikin players, with the
most uncanny realism, right be­
fore your eyes. Years of pioneer­
ing work, months of research
and experiment, and the most
gruelling tests imaginable, are
the secret that made this epoch-
making creation a reality.
“ And what players those
manikins are! A pitcher who
really picks up the ball with his
hands, winds up, throws it right
through the air with plenty on
the ball. A batter, controlled by
the player, steps up and bunts,
steps back and swings, hits, sac­
rifices, f o u l s , ‘fans’ or is
‘walked.’ A catcher who actual­
ly catches the ball on strikes and
many fouls. Why, they’d be a
credit to any league.
“ The first reaction of the play­
er is to marvel in awe at the un­
believable spectacle before his
eyes; then comes the longing to
play and play, as one game
seems to call for another with­
out end. The playing field is a
miniature reproduction of a
baseball diam on d, true-to-life
even to the dugouts. Alm ost
46
every baseball play can be made,
including sacrifices, which ad­
vance base runner. The massive
score board shows play-by-play
results as completely as a box
score. The rich moderne deluxe
cabinet is an attraction in itself
and an ornament to any loca­
tion. From backboard to base,
it’s the supreme achievement of
the industry. You’ve waited pa­
tiently for this super-game, but
believe me, it was well worth
waiting for.”
R. W. (Dick) Hood, president
of the company, was elated over
the enthusiastic reception of the
game by the trade.
“ From the origination of con­
sole games to the present mo­
ment,” he said, “ Evans has been
a leader in giving the industry
its greatest game successes. It’s
only natural that the trade
looked to Evans to build the real-
play baseball game the world
has been waiting for. In Play
Ball, Evans’ engineers have vir­
tually brought a coin machine to
life, almost endowed it with
brains, and precision-engineered
it to such fine points that it is a
miracle of mechanical perfec­
tion, entirely free from bugs,
absolutely dependable in oper­
ation. Distributors are already
predicting that this game will
carry the industry to new
heights of public approval and
acceptance, and put coin ma­
chine operating on the high
plane it deserves.”
DRAW STRAWS TO
PICK PHONOGRAPH
When the Cleveland Phono­
graph Merchants Association de­
cided to use an automatic
phonograph for dancing at the
organization’s August 28 coun­
try outing, they wanted to be
fair to the five distributors in
the city, so drew straws to see
whose machine they would use.
Rock-Ola won.
Association guests at the Aug­
ust meeting were members of
the M i c h i g a n A s s o cia tio n ,
headed by President James Ash­
ley.
Some of the operators, music publishers, and newsmen who came to meet Russ Morgan at the
Mills Music H a ll. Russ brought Jana, the 15-minute caricature artist, and Phyllis Lynne, vocalist,
with him.
AUTOMATIC AGE
© International Arcade Museum
September, 1941
http://www.arcade-museum.com/