Fond Childhood Memories Lead to Adulthood Obsession!

As many of our stories begin, we were products of the 80s with our formative years leading into the 90s. For me, the obsession into all things coin-op would have started in around 1985 during my family's first vacation to Walt Disney World in Florida. Being only five years-old, I'm amazed at the impact that trip had on my fascination with these wonderful contraptions!

It would start with the limited selection of arcade machines strewn about the departure lounge of the Winnipeg International Airport in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. A Galaga cocktail, a 1942 upright and some strange looking, bulky apparatous that my father was drawn to for some reason?!?! I couldn't even see what was going on above the coindoor so I didn't understand his interest in this odd thing. As most curious kids do, I asked my dad what this thing was all about. He replied, "it's a pinball machine, would you like to try it?"...of course I said YES even though I had no idea what was above the lockbar! He propped me up on his knee and I placed my had on the siderails. I could not believe what I was witnessing...a world under glass!!! He started a game and told me to just watch what he did and that I could play Ball 2 and 3. His ball didn't last much longer than about 45 seconds but that was enough to create a very lasting impression which would last until present day! My balls times were even shorter than his but I knew there was something special about this game called "pinball".

Much of the Disney vacation was spent not on the rides and attactions but seeking and playing in various mall arcades in addition to the extensive venue they had inside the park. I believe it was Tomorrowland that housed the arcade just below Space Mountain but I could be mistaken. After a long day at the park, it was time to leave and go for dinner. As a five year-old kid with a seven year-old brother, we were disgusted with the thought of pizza and to tell you the truth, neither of us had tried it. Our parents convinced us to give it a go and we reluctantly agreed. The first time my brother and I ate pizza was in 1985 at a Pizza Hut in Orlando, Florida. How do I remember that? They had a "Clean Sweep" claw machine in the lobby that I was glued to...won a few prizes and LOVED the pizza!!

As we continued to travel throughout the 80s and into the 90s, booking a hotel with a Game Room was a must! With that amenity being priority #1, we often stayed at The Holiday Inn as they typically had a "Holidome" entertainment center in the larger properties. Dripping wet and shivering from a swim in the pool, my brother and I would play vids and Chexx Bubble Hockey while dad would throw a few quarters into the pinball machines. Mom would stay poolside and enjoy some alone time! I was still fascinated with pinball but I wanted to do what my big brother did so arcade machines were his choice. This lead to my interest in games like Pole Position, Rampage, Ms. Pacman and Pac-Land.

Let's fast-forward to my teenage years when pinball was in its heyday. Games such as The Addams Family, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Terminator 2 and The Getaway were a few titles that I enjoyed immensely but it was William's Fish Tales that really got me hooked (no pun intended)! It was the one game that I was better at than my best friend, Ben. He would absolutely clean my clock on the other pins but Fish Tales was "my game"! I can still remember putting $2 worth of fuel into his 1984 Ford Escort just so we had enough to get to the local mall arcade and still have chump change to play these sweet machines...I mean, come on, PRIORITIES!!

Ben and I have remained close friends to this day and are both in our 40s. We have pictures together the day we picked up my first machine, F-14 Tomcat. That day was so amazing as I don't think we stopped playing it for around 8 hours...eventually Ben had to go home but he returned the next day for some more! Speaking of "some more", I knew I wouldn't be truly satisfied until I owned a Fish Tales so the hunt began. This would have been in 2007 so the hunt wasn't anywhere near as difficult as it is today. I located two examples of FT through a friend that was already quite active in the hobby. The first was quite faded/dirty but functional and priced at $1200 (Canadian Funds). I almost commited to that one but my friend (@malibu-ss) convinced me to check out the other one he found. It was in beautiful condition and had been very well maintained...the price, $1250!! I paid the operator and loaded my dream pin into the back of my Chevy Astro van!

To wrap up my story, this hobby has been BY FAR the most rewarding and special passtime that I have ever been involved in! The friends that I have made over the past 15 years remain close friends to this day. There isn't a day that passes that I don't speak with at least two or three of them! I have since purchased and reluctantly sold many games but my collection is almost tailored to be my ultimate lineup...games that I played as a young man. I love playing the newer releases and have even owned a few in the past but I'm always drawn back to a System 11 or WPC machine to add to my permanent collection. My dad remains my #1 pinball adventure travel buddy and we have gone on many hunts together. He does not have a collection of his own but thinks it is so cool to see the games that I find and bring back to life. He also enjoys meeting the people we interact with along the way!

Finally, a BIG thanks goes out to my close friends that I have had the pleasure of meeting along this journey...two of whom I have already chatted with today and it's only 11am! Also to the friends I have made worldwide through Pinside and Facebook...I hope we get to meet in person some day! My family (myself, my wife and two daughters) already have an open invite to stay in Toronto, Tennessee and Australia if I'm ever in those parts! How cool is that?? All because of a silly little silver ball!!