1970 · Bally
Big Valley
Known for Right lock saucer, Left lock saucer, Gopher Gate and Fox Gate. Western desert hills at sunset, open sky gradient, rolling sage-green hills and rocky outcrop.
- Year
- 1970
- Maker
- Bally
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Score reels
- Players
- 4
Known for
- saucer
Right lock saucer
- saucer
Left lock saucer
- gate
Gopher Gate
- gate
Fox Gate
- Lane
Big Pine Pass
- Lane
Top-center lane
- Multiball
Big Valley Multiball
On the playfield
Toy 1
- Up Post disc
Holes 2
- Right lock saucer saucer
- Left lock saucer saucer
Bumper 1
- Red and green bumpers
Target 1
- Light bumper targets
Lanes 3
- Big Pine Pass
- Top-center lane
- Gold Canyon
Posts and gates 3
- Gopher Gate gate
- Fox Gate gate
- Center post post
Control 1
- Lowering rollovers buttons
On the backglass
Who and what
- man Cowboy, white hat, pale blue shirt, orange neckerchief, dark moustache, leaning back with arm flung out as the horse rears
- animal Tan or fawn bucking horse with white mane and tail, rearing, a rifle held across the saddle
- animal Large orange, red and cream striped tiger lying on a rock, mouth open, teeth visible, long tail curling left
- man Figure in pale hat and light shirt seated on the boulder at right, one fist raised in the air
- other Small log cabin with smoking chimney on the green hill at mid-right
Setting
- Western desert hills at sunset
- Open sky gradient
- Rolling sage-green hills
- Rocky outcrop
Text on it
- Bally
- BIG
- VALLEY
- 2 UP
- 3 UP
- 4 UP
- 1 UP
- 03250
- 1 to 4 CAN PLAY
- TILT
- BALL IN PLAY
- Another
- BGR
- Resto
- Restoration
How it plays
-
Multiballs 1
- Big Valley Multiball
Made by
- Design
- Ted Zale
- Art
- Christian Marche
Reference
Linked terms
- Right lock saucer also called Right saucer also called Gopher lock
- Left lock saucer also called Left saucer also called Fox lock
- Top-center lane also called 5K release lane
- Up Post also called Up Post disc
- Red and green bumpers also called Light Bumpers
- Big Valley Multiball also called Multiball
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- green
- orange
- yellow
- black
Fingerprint: Upside-down cowboy on pale bucking horse painted center playfield below pop bumpers. Small pink-and-brown greyhound standing nearby. Four white pop-bumper caps ringed with red-and-green carnival sunbursts each lettered POINTS 100 WHEN LIT. Yellow GLAD STON sign upper right beside safari-helmeted man. Western desert, aging striped paper texture.
The most memorable element is the upside-down cowboy on a pale bucking horse painted into the centre of the playfield, directly below the pop bumpers, with a small pink-and-brown greyhound standing beneath him. A second unforgettable detail is the row of four white pop-bumper caps ringed like red-and-green carnival sunbursts, each lettered 'POINTS 100 WHEN LIT'. A yellow sign on the upper right reads 'GLAD STON' beside a painted safari-helmeted man and a wagon-wheel target, and '2 TO 4 ELEVENS BONUS' plus a separate 'RED ... ELEVENS' card sit on the cactus side. The apron is dominated by a big cream instruction card headed '1 TO 4 CAN PLAY' with a modern QR code stuck to it.
Setting
- Desert plain with saguaro cacti and agave
- Open sky above the horizon arch
- Hillside with a tree on the right
Symbols
- Playing-card spade and star shapes at the upper left
- White pop-bumper sunbursts
- Agave and yucca plants
- Saguaro cactus
- Point values 10, 100, 1000
- Arrows and lightning-bolt flipper markers
Notable shapes
- Inverted kite-shaped pop-bumper housing, red and white striped
- Curved chrome ball guide arch at the very top
- Two large pentagon/leaf-shaped painted inserts with agave fans at the lower left and lower right
Art motifs
- Ageing striped paper over painted playfield
- Large five-pointed stars and spades
Themes
- Old west
- Hunting and fishing
- Cowboy
- Desert
Title on it
- Glad ston
Text on it
- POINTS 100 WHEN LIT
- OPENS FOX GATE
- OPENS COPPER GATE
- RED BUMPERS
- GREEN BUMPERS
- 2 TO 4 ELEVENS BONUS
- 300 SCORES AND FOX HOLE
- 100 FLITES BONUS
- 2 TO 4 RED ELEVENS BONUS
- GLAD STON
- GATE OPEN WHEN LIT
- Down POST
- FLIPPER BUTTON
- 1 TO 4 CAN PLAY
- 3 BALLS
- 1 PLAY 10
- 2. DEPOSIT 2. NICKELS
- 3 PLAYS 25
- Bally
- MANUFACTURING CORP.
- CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60618
- PATENT NOTICE IN CABINET BACK
- Copyright 1966 Bally Manufacturing Corp
- 10
- 1000
- 100
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Painted cowboy in blue jeans, pink shirt and purple vest, upside down, arms locked onto a pale pink-and-brown bucking horse with a black mane and white tail |
| Animal | Bucking horse, pale pink/tan body, brown saddle, black tail, drawn tumbling head-down |
| Animal | Small pink and brown greyhound or whippet standing in profile at centre-bottom |
| Man | Head-and-shoulders portrait in a khaki safari helmet inside a dark oval medallion on the upper right |
| Animal | Fox head, orange with black nose, painted mid-right beside a 'gate open when lit' arrow |
| Animal | Dark green silhouette of a largemouth bass leaping on the upper left cactus panel |
A full-length wood-rail pinball playfield shot from above under glass, with blue LED reflection streaks across the middle. The lower two-thirds is a flat pale sage-green plain. The top third is divided into coloured wedges: a yellow-tan upper-left quadrant with a painted saguaro cactus and a mounted bass jumping, a bright orange-red upper-right quadrant with a man in a safari helmet, and a yellow 'GLAD STON' sign, a green tree and a wagon-wheel disc on the right. Four white pop-bumper caps with red and green sunburst rings read 'POINTS 100 WHEN LIT' and one reads '100 WHEN LIT'. Two large flat-sawn maple-gondola bumpers flank an upside-down bucking horse in a purple-vested cowboy, and a small pink-and-brown greyhound stands nearby. A fox head with 'GATE OPEN WHEN LIT' is painted mid-right, and blue and green agave/yucca plants fill the lower corners. The lower apron carries a cream instruction card headed '1 TO 4 CAN PLAY', a '3 BALLS' card, red 'FLIPPER BUTTON' arrows, and a printed manufacturer line reading 'Bally Manufacturing Corp. Chicago, Illinois 60618' with a copyright notice and a QR code.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- orange
- blue
- green
- black
Fingerprint: "BIG VALLEY", tan bucking horse rearing, cowboy in white hat, striped tiger sprawling on boulder, log cabin, sunset landscape, leafy tree silhouettes.
A tan bucking horse and its rider are thrown backwards at the upper left, next to the title. A huge striped tiger sprawls across the bottom centre on a boulder. The top score display is enclosed in a black bush or cloud silhouette with leafy green tree shapes poking out above it.
Setting
- Western desert hills at sunset
- Open sky gradient
- Rolling sage-green hills
- Rocky outcrop
Symbols
- Leafy green tree
- Black bush silhouettes
- Spiky agave or yucca plant at lower left
- Rocks and boulders
- Smoke plume from chimney
Lettering
- Cream cursive script word above very large grey-shaded block capitals with a red v-shaped wedge behind; small yellow sans-serif up numerals and white player-number counters
Themes
- Wild west
- Cowboys
- Frontier
- Landscape
- Horses
- Tiger
- Hunting
Title on it
- Big valley
Text on it
- Bally
- BIG
- VALLEY
- 2 UP
- 3 UP
- 4 UP
- 1 UP
- 03250
- 1 to 4 CAN PLAY
- TILT
- BALL IN PLAY
- Another
- BGR
- Resto
- Restoration
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Cowboy, white hat, pale blue shirt, orange neckerchief, dark moustache, leaning back with arm flung out as the horse rears |
| Animal | Tan or fawn bucking horse with white mane and tail, rearing, a rifle held across the saddle |
| Animal | Large orange, red and cream striped tiger lying on a rock, mouth open, teeth visible, long tail curling left |
| Man | Figure in pale hat and light shirt seated on the boulder at right, one fist raised in the air |
| Other | Small log cabin with smoking chimney on the green hill at mid-right |
Translucent backglass with a Wild-West landscape painted in flat cartoon colour. Upper left shows a cowboy in a white hat, pale blue shirt, orange neckerchief and dark moustache, leaning back in the stirrups with one arm flung out as a tan bucking horse rears, its white mane and tail flying and a rifle held across the saddle. The title sits upper centre-left: a cream script word above huge block letters reading BIG VALLEY, the letters shaded white to grey with a red V wedge dropping behind them. Background is an orange-to-brown sunset sky over blue and sage-green hills, with a broad green-leafed tree on the right, a small log cabin with smoking chimney mid-right, and black bush silhouettes behind the player-one score window. A tiger with orange, red and cream stripes lies across the lower centre on a black-and-grey rock, mouth open showing teeth. On the right, a man in a pale hat and light shirt sits on the rock raising a fist. Four player score windows with black cloud-shaped surrounds sit right and lower right; the player one window has yellow numerals 03250.
Backglass
- yellow
- green
- black
- blue
Fingerprint: Giant snarling orange tiger with black stripes lunging across lower centre overrunning greyhound, rearing tan horse with rifle-holding cowboy at upper left, huge broad-canopied tree filling right half, tall white BIG VALLEY lettering shaded red at base, black cloud-shaped score panels over yellow sunburst
A giant snarling orange tiger with black stripes lunging across the bottom centre, jaws wide open, overrunning a running greyhound - the most eye-catching element. A rearing tan horse with a rifle-holding cowboy at upper left. A huge broad-canopied tree filling the right half of the glass. Tall white BIG VALLEY block lettering shaded red at the base. Black cloud-shaped score panels floating over a yellow sunburst sky.
Setting
- Yellow and orange sunburst sky band across the top
- Pale green rolling hills
- Blue sky wedge on the left
- Bright green pasture on the right with a small white farmhouse and a white tower
- Large brown-trunked tree with rounded bright green canopy
- Small flock of tiny sheep in the mid-distance pasture
- Grey boulders lower right
- Pale blue water or road strip along the bottom
Symbols
- Four black cloud-shaped score panels
- Digit reel score displays
- Large lime-green multi-pointed leaf at lower left
- Black jagged starburst behind the 1 up counter
- White and grey farmhouse with pitched roof
- Narrow white tower or silo
- Chrome inner frame border
- Light green outer cabinet border
- Four coloured numbered ovals
Lettering
- Tall condensed sans-serif block capitals in white with a red-to-orange shaded lower half and grey drop shadow; smaller plain white and green sans-serif capitals for the player and instruction text; one small white cursive script word above the title
Themes
- Western
- Big game hunt
- Tiger hunt
- Ranch farm
- Countryside
Title on it
- Big valley
Text on it
- Bally
- BIG
- VALLEY
- 2 UP
- 3 UP
- 4 UP
- 1 UP
- 0 0 0 0 0
- 4 4 8 3 0
- 1 to 4 CAN PLAY
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- BALL IN PLAY
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Cartoon cowboy, brown wide-brim hat, yellow neckerchief, pale green shirt, riding a rearing tan-and-cream horse at upper left while holding a wooden rifle angled downward; grinning, one arm outstretched |
| Animal | Tan and cream horse rearing on its hind legs, mane and tail flying, front legs raised, blue bridle |
| Animal | Huge orange tiger with black stripes, white chest and muzzle, mouth open snarling with red tongue and fangs, one forepaw extended with black claws, lunging left to right across the lower centre |
| Animal | Sleek tan and white greyhound or whippet running at full stretch across the bottom left, mouth open, long tail streaming |
| Man | Man in a white flat cap and white shirt standing on grey boulders at lower right, one arm raised in the air, near the tree and pasture |
| Animal | Small flock of tiny white sheep scattered on the green pasture in the mid-distance |
A square backglass in a light green painted border, chrome inner frame and black outline. The background is a yellow-to-orange sunburst band across the top fading into pale green hills and blue sky. The title sits high centre-left in tall condensed block capitals, white with a red-to-orange shaded lower half and grey drop shadow, with a small white cursive script word above-left. Upper left, a cartoon cowboy in a brown hat, yellow neckerchief and pale green shirt rides a rearing tan-and-cream horse, one arm holding a wooden rifle angled down. Four white score windows in black cloud-shaped panels carry digit reels: 00000 for 2 UP top right, 00000 for 3 UP mid right, 00000 for 4 UP bottom right, and 44830 beside 1 UP at left, set against a black jagged starburst with a big lime-green cannabis-style leaf below. Lower centre, a huge snarling orange tiger with black stripes and a white chest lunges right, jaws open, claws extended, overrunning a running greyhound. A large brown-trunked tree with a bright green canopy fills the right half. Lower right a man in a white cap and shirt stands on grey boulders with one arm raised, beside a small white farmhouse, a white tower, pasture and tiny sheep. Bottom left reads 1 to 4 CAN PLAY above four numbered ovals; bottom right reads BALL IN PLAY.