My introduction to pinball started in a slightly unexpected way.
When I was a kid, my uncle owned a Fireball pinball machine. When his fiancée moved in, she took one look at the artwork — the devil, flames, and all that 1970s Bally drama — and decided it absolutely could not stay in the house.
So the machine had to go.
My uncle solved the problem by moving it into my mom’s garage.
And that’s how I discovered pinball.
While the adults were busy debating whether a pinball machine with a cartoon devil was appropriate décor, I was learning how to flip, trap the ball, and keep it alive as long as possible.
That old Fireball machine sat in the garage like a secret arcade.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but that’s where I learned the foundations of the game — patience, timing, and the simple joy of chasing a silverball.
Still counts.
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