1974 · Bally
Champ
Known for Top saucer, Captive balls, Mushroom bumpers and Extra Ball targets. Dark smoky arcade interior, row of other pinball machines behind the players and yellow-green mottled haze behind the title.
- Year
- 1974
- Maker
- Bally
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Score reels
- Players
- 4
Known for
- saucer
Top saucer
- Captive ball
Captive balls
- Bumper
Mushroom bumpers
- Target
Extra Ball targets
On the playfield
On the backglass
Who and what
- woman Left foreground, long dark blue-black hair, sleeveless pale blue top with a white leafy pattern, head tilted right, eyes closed or lowered, warm tan skin
- woman Centre, shoulder-length blonde hair, red lipstick, fitted red short-sleeved top, left hand resting on the pinball machine, facing the viewer
- man Centre-right, fair-haired young man in a red shirt, seen from behind in three-quarter view, head turned left towards the blonde woman
- man Right, older grey-haired man with lined face, grey shirt with a red patch pocket, chin propped on his fist, watching the playfield
Setting
- Dark smoky arcade interior
- Row of other pinball machines behind the players
- Yellow-green mottled haze behind the title
Text on it
- Bally
- CHAMP
- 00
- 10
- 20
- 30
- 40
- 50
- 60
- 70
- 80
- 90
- SAME PLAYER
- SHOOTS AGAIN
- 83890
- 1 UP
- 2 UP
- 100000
- 00000
- 3 UP
- 4 UP
- 1 to 4 CAN PLAY
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- BALL IN PLAY
- GAME OVER
How it plays
-
Awards 1
- Double Bonus
Made by
- Design
- Jim Patla
- Art
- Christian Marche
Reference
Linked terms
- Top saucer also called Center top saucer also called Center saucer
- Captive balls also called Captive-ball lanes also called Lit captive-ball lane
- Mushroom bumpers also called Captive-lane mushroom bumpers
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- yellow
- red
- blue
- cream
Fingerprint: Two oversized white pop-bumper caps side by side each printed with big black 100 inside yellow-and-green starburst. Red-and-white chequered flag positioned just below them with looping horseshoe-shaped chrome ball guide curling around it. Stylized orange and red motor cars painted across upper playfield, orange-clothed figure at upper right. Racing theme, yellow and cream.
Two oversized white pop-bumper caps side by side, each printed with a big black 100 inside a yellow-and-green starburst, with the words LIGHTS THRU LANE printed between them. A painted red-and-white chequered flag sits just below, with a looping horseshoe-shaped chrome ball guide curling round it. Stylised orange and red motor cars are painted across the upper playfield, and a human figure in orange clothing stands at the upper right corner. A vertical blue-and-red COLLECT BONUS panel is framed by the two white flippers at the bottom.
Setting
- Stylised outdoor speedway or race-track scene painted in flat cartoon shapes
- Radiating orange sunburst behind the upper pop bumpers
- Pale pink and cream lower playfield with blue triangular wings
Symbols
- Red-and-white chequered flag
- Yellow-and-green starbursts on pop bumper caps
- Stylised motor cars with spoked wheels
- Sunburst rays
- Oval lane guides
- Round target discs
- Light bulbs in the score panel
- Coin slots
Notable shapes
- Horseshoe-shaped chrome ball guide loop at centre playfield
- Two large circular pop bumper caps
- Tall narrow lane-guide rails down the left and right upper sides
- Chevron of light-box drop targets across the middle
- Large blue triangular apron wings flanking the flippers
Art motifs
- Flat cartoon airbrushed racing graphics
- Radiating sunbeams
- Arrow and triangle shapes
- Chequered flag motif
- Starburst medallions
Themes
- Motor racing
- Cars
- Speedway
- Drivers
- Bonus and extra ball scoring
- Electromechanical scoring
Text on it
- 100
- LIGHTS THRU LANE
- WHEN LIT
- 3,000
- 500
- 1000
- 60
- 50
- SHOOT AGAIN
- EXTRA BALL WHEN LIT
- ADVANCE BONUS 1000
- DOUBLE WHEN LIT BONUS
- SAME PLAYER SHOOTS AGAIN WHEN LIT
- COLLECT BONUS
- FLIPPER BUTTON
- INSTRUCTIONS
- 5 BALLS PER PLAYER
- 1 PLAY 10c
- 3 PLAYS 25c
- TILT DISQUALIFIES BALL IN PLAY FROM FURTHER SCORING
- Bally
- MANUFACTURING CORP.
- CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60618
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | Several stylised orange and red motor cars with black tyres painted across the upper playfield, one facing right below the right pop bumper, another red car body at upper centre-left near the chequered flag |
| Man | Figure in orange clothing and a helmet at the upper right corner of the playfield, shown front-on from the waist up, one arm raised |
| Woman | Small painted female figure in the lower-mid playfield, seen in profile beside a wheel, hair and dress rendered in flat orange and red shapes |
A full view of an electro-mechanical pinball machine photographed from above and slightly in front, the playfield sitting under a glass cover inside a wood-grain cabinet with a metal front panel and two illuminated coin slots on the apron. The playfield art is dominated by a racing/driving theme: a yellow and cream upper arc, a maroon-red and orange sunburst centre, blue triangular panels, and a pale pink lower-mid field. Two large round pop-bumper caps sit side by side near the top, each a white disc with a yellow-and-green starburst and a big black 100, flanked by the black text LIGHTS THRU LANE. Stylised orange and red motor cars with visible wheels are painted around the upper playfield, along with a figure in orange clothing and a helmet at the upper right, and a red-and-white chequered flag square near the centre. A looping horseshoe-shaped wire ball guide arcs across the middle. Two white flipper bats with red rubber flank a blue-and-red COLLECT BONUS panel low down. The cream apron carries a red script company logo, an INSTRUCTIONS card, and a 5 BALLS PER PLAYER price card. Paint is scuffed and worn on the lower apron.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- red
- yellow
- black
- blue
Fingerprint: champ, giant five-letter title in red-orange block capitals spans almost entire width beneath cursive maker's mark, center shows narrative scene: four 1970s-dressed players crowded around pinball machine with blonde woman in red top at exact center and fair-haired man seen from behind right in front of her, score reels display real numerals, pale blue scoring scale 00 to 90 runs along very top, arcade gathering atmosphere
The dominant feature is a giant five-letter title in red-orange block capitals that stretches almost the entire width of the glass directly beneath a cursive script maker's mark. The whole centre is a narrative scene rather than a logo: four 1970s-dressed players hunched around a pinball machine, with a blonde woman in a red top at the exact centre and a fair-haired man's head seen from behind right in front of her. The score reels are printed with real numerals, 83890 on the top left bank and 00000 on every other visible reel, which is unusual on artwork. A pale blue ladder-like scoring scale of 00 to 90 runs along the very top above the title.
Setting
- Dark smoky arcade interior
- Row of other pinball machines behind the players
- Yellow-green mottled haze behind the title
Symbols
- Gold trophy cup
- Starburst behind the title
- Black-and-gold ornamental score cartouches
- Playing-card-shaped reel windows
- Pinball machine with visible playfield and backbox
- Other pinball machines in the background
Lettering
- Cursive red script maker's mark top left; enormous red-orange slab-serif block capitals with black outline for the title; white condensed sans-serif on the blue scoring band; black hand-lettered caps on the bottom strip with game over in yellow on a red rectangle.
Themes
- Pinball tournament
- Arcade gathering
- Championship match
- Players at a machine
Title on it
- Champ
Text on it
- Bally
- CHAMP
- 00
- 10
- 20
- 30
- 40
- 50
- 60
- 70
- 80
- 90
- SAME PLAYER
- SHOOTS AGAIN
- 83890
- 1 UP
- 2 UP
- 100000
- 00000
- 3 UP
- 4 UP
- 1 to 4 CAN PLAY
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- BALL IN PLAY
- GAME OVER
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | Left foreground, long dark blue-black hair, sleeveless pale blue top with a white leafy pattern, head tilted right, eyes closed or lowered, warm tan skin |
| Woman | Centre, shoulder-length blonde hair, red lipstick, fitted red short-sleeved top, left hand resting on the pinball machine, facing the viewer |
| Man | Centre-right, fair-haired young man in a red shirt, seen from behind in three-quarter view, head turned left towards the blonde woman |
| Man | Right, older grey-haired man with lined face, grey shirt with a red patch pocket, chin propped on his fist, watching the playfield |
A wide, landscape-format electro-mechanical backglass framed in a pale wooden surround with a translucent, slightly yellowed playfield-like background panel. Across the top sits a cursive red-and-black script maker's signature over a small gold trophy cup illustration, and beneath it a huge five-letter block title in bright red-orange slab-serif capitals with a black outline and white highlight, spanning nearly the full width. Above the title runs a pale blue horizontal band printed with a white scoring scale reading 00 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90, and 'SHOOTS AGAIN' in white at the right. Two horizontal rows of five square mechanical score reels with cream card and black numerals sit above and below the central artwork, each interrupted by ornate black-and-gold cartouches marked 1 UP, 2 UP, 3 UP and 4 UP, with a yellow 100000 panel beneath the first two. The centre is a comic-style illustration of four people crowded around a pinball machine in a dark, smoky arcade: a dark-haired woman in a sleeveless pale blue patterned top at the left, a blonde woman in a fitted red short-sleeved top at centre, a fair-haired young man in a red shirt seen from behind, and an older grey-haired man in a grey shirt with a red pocket at the right, resting his chin on his fist. The bottom strip carries '1 to 4 CAN PLAY', a lit red 1 in a yellow circle, 'BALL IN PLAY', and 'GAME OVER' in yellow on red.