Chicago Cubs Triple Play

Photo of the backglass for Chicago Cubs Triple Play as described in the post

Chicago Cubs Triple Play by Premier, 1985.

The bottom third of the backglass is an illustration of Wrigley Field’s outside gates, with their famous red sign, and lots of people heading toward the box offices.

The top two thirds of the backglass are two drawings of pictures. Illustrations of photos are always cool, right? On the left, the view from up in the nosebleed seats of the grounds, with home plate closest to the camera. On the right, a zoomed in view of the famous and old scoreboard in Wrigley field.

Across the top is the name Chicago Cubs (where the word “Cubs” is embedded in the o of Chicago, like their logo at the time) and the words “triple play” in scare quotes. As a baseball fan, I do fear the triple play when my team is up, but I don’t think I fear it enough to put it in scare quote.

Slick Chick

Photo of Slick Chick's backglass, as described in the post

Slick Chick, 1963, another goddamned Gottleib.

This backglass hearkens back to a simpler era, one where printing could only really cover about six colors. One where men sang in barbershop quartets while women wore bunny suits that actually covered their hips. Since this machine is a single player, the score reels are in the center. A stage fills the foreground and behind the stage, or I guess in front of it, four men sing in a barbershop quartet  surrounded by tables where people are sitting and potentially eating. Think of any 1940s era musical where someone is singing in a night club.

On the left, a blonde wears a pink sleeveless one piece with deep cleavage that ends in a fur-lined skirt. She also wears a pink hat with bunny ears, and pink heels.

On the right, a woman sitting on a bar stool (on the stage) is wearing a blue sleeveless one piece with almost no cleavage. Hers also ends in a  fur-lined skirt. She wears blue heels and blue bunny ears.

The pink bunny girl is carrying a very old camera. The blue bunny girl is holding nothing. Both seem oblivious to the quartet, who are singing in front of the stage instead of on it. I guess they didn’t want to hit their head on the score reels.

Xenon

Photo of Xenon backglass as described in the post

Xenon, Bally, 1980.

For as boring as the 2010s backglasses are, I live for the 80s whackadoo shit.

Dead center we see the torso and head of a giant female robot. Her eyeballs are hearts. Her neck collar has a very large X shining in the center of her throat. Metal bars appear to be running from the camera location to the collar.

The woman standing in front of the giant robot, almost at the position of the camera, faces away from us. She’s wearing a green sci-fi outfit. Based on how perspective works she’s about 1/10 the height of the giant robot.

Pipes encircle the robot as if she’s at the end of a Jeffries tube. One would be excused for missing the two women that appear to be flying/floating toward the robot since they blend in with the pipes.

In each corner a skeleton with a robot head (or conversely a robot with a skeleton body) is slumped against the corner or staring at the events.

Wrestlemania

Photo of the Wrestlemania backglass as described in the post.

So I guess John Cena didn’t get his start in acting, then?

Wrestlemania, 2015, Stern Pinball.

The 2010s really had a thing for branded machines and boring backglass. John Cena stands front and center without a shirt. A bunch of other wrestlers, shirtless, though at least one has a hat, stand behind him in various poses.

Wizard!

Photo of the Wizard backglass as described in the post.

Wizard, Bally, 1975.

There is a LOT going on here.

The setting: a pinball playfield which appears to be on fire at its back edge. Jets fly overhead. There are a few mushroom clouds on the horizon.

In the center, a man with a perm sits on a giant pinball bumper. It’s lit. The man has reflective sunglasses on, and they appear to be reflecting a very bright window. He wears a necklace with a pinball on it. He also has neck bolts (think Frankenstein) with lightning coming out of them.

He’s wearing a sleeveless white teeshirt with a giant pinball on it, labeled “Bally Pinball Wizard”.

His belt is a green and white diamondback. Said snake appears to be coming out of his jeans, so this both is and is not a euphemism.

A blonde woman with unrealistic breasts has her right arm around him. She’s wearing a light blue negligee and has a light blue feather on her collarbone. On her left finger she wears an octopus ring. On her left leg, a shackle leads to a bowling ball sized pinball that has Tommy written on it.

Behind them, to the left, a gobble hole labeled “love” has a woman standing in it. She is wearing a green turban, green bikini covered in red hearts, and red and green stockings that go up to her thighs.

To the right, a gobble hole labeled “evil” has a woman sitting on the edge. She’s wearing a white turban, a red and white half jacket that has “memento mori” written on the cuff. Her breasts are also unrealistic and barely contained. Her bikini bottoms have a center decoration consisting of black wings, a skull, and an hourglass on it.

In the foreground are two more gobble holes labeled “1-4 can play” and “ball in play”.

My understanding is that Bally created this wizard game because they couldn’t /before they could license the actual musical.

This thing is nightmare fuel.