‘Pinball Wizard’ gives Maridon some game
Local DJ Pat Gallagher is a bit of a Renaissance man. Aside from his interest in music, he sure plays a mean pinball.
On Wednesday evening, the Maridon Museum, 322 N. McKean St., resurrected its Collectors series with Gallagher’s presentation on the inner workings and history of pinball machines.
Attendees had the opportunity to play three vintage games from Gallagher’s larger collection and learn about the rich history of the game, which originated in the 1800s.
Nancy Hile, a manager at the Maridon, said the Collectors series, which took a hiatus due to COVID-19, seeks to feature collections from a wide range of interests.
“We highlight and focus on people showing collections of things they’re interested in,” she said. “We’ve had people who collected pencils, vintage jewelry, dolls, antique toys. We’re hoping to have one a quarter.”
Gallagher's collection began with his grandfather’s pinball business, which once had 300 coin operated machines across three states. These included jukeboxes, he said.
“He was constantly rotating machines. You can’t just leave a machine in one place because people would get bored. They were in every bar and restaurant,” he said. “Even before I could drive, I was helping him. It’s a different kind of life.”
Of the 10 machines in Gallagher’s collection, some are as old as 1952. All of them predate 1977, when digital pinball entered the picture, and it’s these machines that he specializes in repairing.
One game people could try out Wednesday evening was the Dragonette, which came out in 1954. Gallagher explained that pinball was illegal until 1976 in states like New York, and that the skill game evolved to use different playing fields and objectives to stay relevant and within the law.
The event sparked so much interest that the Maridon has added a second night, but it too has sold out. Even before the talk, families lit up while playing the games, listening to the dings of the machine.
Don Paul and his daughter, Morgyn, were excited to attend to support the Maridon and Gallagher.
“I’m excited he’s doing this for the community. When a guy takes his time to do this for the public, it’s cool,” he said. “(Pinball’s) coming back.”
What Gallagher hopes audiences take away is a newly sparked interest and knowledge.
“Some younger people have never even seen these games before,” he said. “They’re losing popularity because everyone has a personal gaming system. I hope people will go buy their own pinball machines, or better yet, go to where they are and play the games.”
