Automatic Industries of Youngstown, Ohio manufactured the first coin operated pinball game, Whiffle, in 1931. Soon they offered a bewildering array of games with the Whiffle name, including this game, which was converted (or built) to operate without coins.

Conversions

This Whiffle game #1297 includes two conversions: free play and revised scoring.

For the free play conversion, a second plunger was installed in place of the usual coin slide to reset the game. A play can press this plunger to release the balls for a new game. From the outside, this second plunger appears professionally mounted on a nicely finished block of wood. Inside, it connects to the ball release panel with a piece of baling wire.

The sheet metal coin box housing remains under the playfield, complete with its coin funnel. There is no coin box or lock.

The scoring conversion was achieved by applying new score decals over the original hot stamped score values. Most of the original, white scores were low values such as 10, 20, 50, or 100. The decals covering the original scores show much higher score values: 100, 200, 300, 500, etc.

It is not obvious how the new (or old) score values were chosen. For example, 200-point decals at two holes near the top of the playfield cover hot stamped scores of 50 and 20. The difficulty of those holes remains the same.

Near the center of the upper playfield, a Whiffle Bird decal covers a 20-point hot stamped score value. The presence of this decal suggests that the new score decals were either applied at the factory or sold by Automatic Industries. Instead of earning 20 points, a ball falling into the Whiffle Bird hole doubles the score achieved by the other balls. How exciting!

Part of the Whiffle Bird decal and most of another score decal have been worn away by thousands of balls caroming off a bumper (now missing) at the left side of the upper playfield arch. The worn playfield reveals the most common trajectories for the glass balls.

The ball lifter knob on the right side of the game has the word "Yankee" cast into it. Was this a stock knob used for a new purpose here?

Built Like Furniture

The Whiffle game mounts on a base constructed like a typical table. The legs are attached by aprons at the top, which support the game, and by an H-shaped stretcher about halfway up. The front legs are preassembled with their short apron and the front stretcher. The back legs are similarly preassembled.

Tenons at the ends of the long side aprons engage the slot mortises cut into the tops of the legs to form bridle joints. Metal leg apron brackets pull the aprons toward the legs to strengthen the corner joints. Wingnuts secure the leg apron brackets onto hanger bolts screwed into the legs at 45 degrees.

Similarly, tenons at the ends of the middle stretcher engage mortises cut into the short end stretchers. Wood screws secure the tenons in the stretchers.

Finally, the Whiffle game body is placed on the base and secured with long wood screws driven up through the aprons.

Patent Protection

A decal on the left side of the playfield arch identifies the game and lists the patents that protect it. None of the patents are specific to this game:

• Patent 1,694,691 Golf Game Apparatus, Frank Rentz, December 11, 1928. A coin operated golf game with a wire gate mechanism to release balls from golf holes through the playfield onto a ball return trough.
• Patent 1,730,523 Game, James Nicholas, October 8, 1929. A bagatelle game with circular patterns of pins directing marbles into playfield pockets. Slot valves release the trapped balls onto a return ramp. Not coin operated.
• Patent Re. 17,961 Game Apparatus, Frank Ellison, Reissued February 10, 1931. A game with multiple balls propelled by mechanisms connected to buttons and cranks. A sliding panel under the playfield has holes to release balls from the playfield onto a ball return ramp. Not coin operated. Orginally issues as Patent 1,253,471 on June 15, 1918.

Automatic Industries obtained additional protection for their products when Patent 1,938,495 Game Apparatus was issued to Arthur Paulin and Earl Froom on Dec. 5, 1933. This patent describes and illustrates the workings of the Whiffle pinball game.