C.O.C.A. Times

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Catch Me If You Can_
by John Peterson
make for decided improvement with an allwin?
Can you remember how far back you previously
pulled the hammer when attempting the follow-up
shot? It's theoretically possible I suppose but in
reality, you're a new gunslinger each and every
time you shoot. That is part of the addictive qual-
ity of the game and the saving grace for the opera-
tors. If the games were easy to master, the players
would clean out the coins in short order and that
would be the death knell for allwins. The huge
numbers of allwins produced attests to their popu-
larity as well as their ability to extract hard earned
pennies from the ever-gullible public.
Compared to allwins, catching games were
made in smaller quantities even though they pre-
ceded all wins historically. The premise of catchers
is quite simple. A mechanical action introduces a
small ball onto the top of the vertical playfield.
The ball then drops through a series of pins that
alter its course in a seemingly random fashion.
Directly below the pinfield is a catching cup that
you control by means of a knob on the front of the
game. The whole point of the game is to catch the
ball in the cup. If successful, you then move the
cup to a specific position where the ball drops back
into the machine and enables some form of reward.
There are variations on the theme but this is the
basis for catching games. Their pace tends to be
more languid than their all win cousins and the abil-
ity level required to win is substantially higher.
With some of the games, the fall through the pins
is so fast that winning tests pure luck more than
skill or reflex. Due to these factors , catchers were
not as popular as allwins and not produced as pro-
lifically. Let's take a look at a few.
I can remember the day as if it were yesterday.
I was playing second base. It was down to the final
out and we were leading by one run. There were
runners on second and third with the count full.
Our ace pitcher, Charlie Watson let loose with his
trademark windmill pitch that had saved us time
and time again. Crack! The ball sped toward me
like a bullet. I reached down to make the play that
would end the game and propel us to the champi-
onship. The ball squirted through my legs on its
way toward center field. Two runs scored, sending
us to the showers and capping my short, undistin-
guished career in baseball.
Sound familiar to everyone? Most guys eventu-
ally hit the wall in the sport of their choice. It is a
sobering event when this happens and it is always,
absolutely always, a huge disappointment. Even
so, it teaches one of Life's important lessons in
reality: passion and ambition are not always
enough. In some things, you have to possess God-
given talent to progress beyond the amateur ranks.
Fortunately for me, my education came in the Sixth
grade. I knew right then I would have to rely on
my brain rather than my brawn to make something
of myself. Still, I longed for the pure physical
beauty that accompanies the gifted baseball player.
Outside the wonders of pitching, nothing matches
their ability to catch the ball! Today's offering is
about games that are just that, ball catchers.
The field of wall games can be roughly divided
into two large categories: allwins and catchers. As
you know, allwins are the games in which a steel
ball bearing is propelled around a vertical circular
track until friction and gravity combine to cause
the ball to drop, usually into the "lose" hole. These
are exciting games and can be played very fast by
varying the thumb pressure on the spring-loaded
hammer. There is skill involved in winning against
an allwin. The amount of pressure applied to the
hammer will determine how forcefully the ball is
struck and how far its trajectory. Does practice
CLOWNING AROUND
One of the earliest catchers was the "Bajazzo"
or clown catcher. Made in both Germany and
France, a very large number of these were pro-
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