Play Meter
Issue: 1981 February 15 - Vol 7 Num 3 - Page 10
Five Years Ago in Play Meter's Pages ...
January, 1976
This month in PLAY METER's past,
the gold lettering of the cover flashed
out: " 1976 Directory Issue." That
was the introduction to the most
complete guide available , listing all
the manufacturers, distributors, and
vario us support companies that
served the coin-operated amuse-
ment machines business.
Five years later, the Industry
Directory continues to expand, and
!t is incorporated in the present
ISSUe.
Coinman of the Month, January of
1976, was Jon Brady of Brady
Distributing, Charlotte , North
Carolina. That state's coin-ops were
otherwise prominent in the news
pages that month.
With the involvement of Milton
Hobbs, president of the N.C. Coin
Operators Association, a potential
$500,000 in new pool table business
was " found"-after the state
alcoholic beverage control board
was convinced to re-classify certain
locations with pool tables as not
being "pool halls." Business then
opened up for cafes and restaurant
locations in North Carolina.
In Michigan, a new law had gone
into effect that made winning free
plays on pinball legal for the first time
since 1945, PLAY METER reported
.. .. United Billiards Inc. was formally
changing its name to U.B.I. Inc.,
recognizing that "we are no longer
solely a billiards company," said its
President Scott Daddis .. .. Meadows
Games of Sunnyvale, California had
ended its second year with strong
growth records. It had four videos in
the works for January, 1976
distribution .... Fletcher Autovend
Ltd., a British firm, was preparing to
distribute "hohky-tonk" coin-op
player pianos equipped for stereo.
In other new product news,
January, 1976: Playmatic S .A. of
Spain was introducing its Fantasy
and Fairy flipper games to the U.S.
market.. .. The video Q-and-A game
Trivia was bowed-in by Ramtek. ...
Bally was debuting its Bow and
Arrow four-player flipper. ... T o/edo
two-player pinball game was coming
from Williams Electronics .... Chicago
Coin came out with star appeal in its
Hollywood pingame .... And Play
Master, billiards table manufacturer,
had introduced a new concept,
"black light billiards," based on the
idea of using specially treated balls
and cloth that react to ultraviolet
light.
Play Meter Publisher Ralph C .
Lally II editorialized in the five-years-
ago issue: "We begin the second
volume of PLAY METER and the
new year with a great deal of
anticipatory eagerness because we
think 1976 offers some rather
interesting changes and challenges,
not only for us, but for the entire
coin-operated amusements in-
dustry.' The next year was predicted
to be a "buyers market" for the
operator, with many new manufac-
turers entering the field , armed with
microprocessor applications to new
games.
January, 1976
This month in PLAY METER's past,
the gold lettering of the cover flashed
out: " 1976 Directory Issue." That
was the introduction to the most
complete guide available , listing all
the manufacturers, distributors, and
vario us support companies that
served the coin-operated amuse-
ment machines business.
Five years later, the Industry
Directory continues to expand, and
!t is incorporated in the present
ISSUe.
Coinman of the Month, January of
1976, was Jon Brady of Brady
Distributing, Charlotte , North
Carolina. That state's coin-ops were
otherwise prominent in the news
pages that month.
With the involvement of Milton
Hobbs, president of the N.C. Coin
Operators Association, a potential
$500,000 in new pool table business
was " found"-after the state
alcoholic beverage control board
was convinced to re-classify certain
locations with pool tables as not
being "pool halls." Business then
opened up for cafes and restaurant
locations in North Carolina.
In Michigan, a new law had gone
into effect that made winning free
plays on pinball legal for the first time
since 1945, PLAY METER reported
.. .. United Billiards Inc. was formally
changing its name to U.B.I. Inc.,
recognizing that "we are no longer
solely a billiards company," said its
President Scott Daddis .. .. Meadows
Games of Sunnyvale, California had
ended its second year with strong
growth records. It had four videos in
the works for January, 1976
distribution .... Fletcher Autovend
Ltd., a British firm, was preparing to
distribute "hohky-tonk" coin-op
player pianos equipped for stereo.
In other new product news,
January, 1976: Playmatic S .A. of
Spain was introducing its Fantasy
and Fairy flipper games to the U.S.
market.. .. The video Q-and-A game
Trivia was bowed-in by Ramtek. ...
Bally was debuting its Bow and
Arrow four-player flipper. ... T o/edo
two-player pinball game was coming
from Williams Electronics .... Chicago
Coin came out with star appeal in its
Hollywood pingame .... And Play
Master, billiards table manufacturer,
had introduced a new concept,
"black light billiards," based on the
idea of using specially treated balls
and cloth that react to ultraviolet
light.
Play Meter Publisher Ralph C .
Lally II editorialized in the five-years-
ago issue: "We begin the second
volume of PLAY METER and the
new year with a great deal of
anticipatory eagerness because we
think 1976 offers some rather
interesting changes and challenges,
not only for us, but for the entire
coin-operated amusements in-
dustry.' The next year was predicted
to be a "buyers market" for the
operator, with many new manufac-
turers entering the field , armed with
microprocessor applications to new
games.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).