1962 World Series
Williams, 1962Quoted from PinballAir:I meant to say" I will add the individual switches on the console to allow the PITCHER to select the pitch."
I would save the original wood console and do your custom one one a new piece of wood so that way you can revert it back to original easily when you go to sell the game in a year or 50 years from now.
Just my 2 cents.
Ken 
I have a '59 Pinch hitter with fast ball and curve that I am in the process of restoring. As you note, the curve relies on a magnet, which is tied to a relay. The curve button triggers the relay, which turns on the magnet. Pretty simple and straightforward. Since it does not have a slow and fast option, I'm not sure how that is done. It does have a screw adjustment with a rubber 'brake' on it that makes contact with the pitching cam/disc. A relay forces the brake onto the disc to slow the pitch down. It would certainly be possible to rewire this relay so it only operated via a 'slow pitch' button. Now, there may be other options based upon how the pitch velocity is achieved. For example, my pitching mechanism is controlled with a spring. The pitching motor takes it to the point of the spring being released but does not determine the velocity of the pitch. The speed of the pitch is dictated by the strength of the spring (less brake pressure). So adding a resistor to reduce the voltage of the pitching motor would have no effect. Either it has enough power to make it to the release point or it doesn't. Once released, the motor is out of the equation.
EM-Pinman:
Exactly.
I will make every change easily reversible as the game always has more value as it was than as "I" want it.
Oldgoat:
The pitching mech basically uses a swing arm. I do not see any springs. The motion would be the same time after time except that there is some wear in the pivot and I think this is causing variation left and right in the pitching.
The magnet definately curves the ball.
I find it odd that the pitch "mixer" cuts the power to the bat coil thru a 4 ohm resistor in one position and direct in another . It actually controls bat strength rather than pitch strength.
Quoted from PinballAir:I find it odd that the pitch "mixer" cuts the power to the bat coil thru a 4 ohm resistor in one position and direct in another . It actually controls bat strength rather than pitch strength
So the pitch speed is always the same? On mine, there is actually a pot that is accessible if the coin door is open. It is used to control bat speed. The speed of the pitching mechanism is determined by the number of winds on the spring plus there are 3 notches that one can place the end of the spring in to fine tune speed. When I set it up at first, I had the pitch spring tension at max and the bat speed was in the middle. There was no way to get the bat around in time.
The 1973 Upper Deck was the last EM Williams baseball game. It was the accumulation of 20 + years of continuous development. The pitching unit was a type D-6322 which replaced the much different E-5613 pitch unit last fitted to the 63 Major League game. This pitching unit you have was tweaked every year and your game is probably one of the best baseball games made. So well done it's a good purchase. 
My advice is to get it working properly, enjoy it and see whether it still needs modifying as I doubt it. 
It's a 2 player, has plenty of targets to aim for and other refinements not seen in games from the 50 and 60's. Possibly look for a 90's Slugfest if you want to have more pitching selection options. Your game should get you a swap and enough change for a nice em pinball.
If I could ask you a favor for the baseball game group what rpm motor is your pitching unit fitted with. We have a spreadsheet here that is trying to list things like this so we can find parts.
Steve J.
Hello p&b folks! I have a question regarding the coin mech for a '56 United Star Slugger. Mine is not original and even has some 'extra' parts. I understand the originals are hard to find and not common to other P&Bs /bowlers etc. ??? Also, that it couldn't be interchanged. ???
Could someone confirm this for me and/or steer me towards someone with the correct components? Here is what I currently have FYI.
Thanks
Dave
Chris of St Louis Ball Bowlers recently acquired a whole cache of machines & parts (I scored a complete & rare coin mech assy for my 72 Tropics ball bowler). It may be worth a call to Chris.
Thanks wayner.
edit. wow that was quick. Chris is a great guy, answering questions about p&bs when his shop is all about Ball Bowlers. Seems like I may have been wrong about the mech. V good to know.
Quoted from PinballAir:I picked up a Williams Upper Deck that I am restoring.
I have got the machine to work and I am still working out some issues.
The machine has a "mixer unit" to vary the pitching.
PinballAir -
Good luck on your tweaking of the game. I played a lot of games on Upper Deck as a teenager at Tiny Tim's Hobby Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan!
I actually have the 'opposite' situation with my '66 Williams Pitch and Bat. It has 4 pitches and when playing a 2-player game that is great. However, playing a one-player game is not as fun since you 'know' what pitch is coming! I thought it would be better if when you were in 1-player mode, there WAS a 'mixer unit' that would randomize the selection of the pitches so you did not know what was being thrown. I'm sure there is some way to wire this up, but it may be beyond my technical capabilities!
Keep us posted
Quoted from Oldgoat:So the pitch speed is always the same?
Yeah, the pitch speed is always the same.
The strength of the bat is regulated by a larger "rheostat" inside the coin door but is also directly wired after the rheostat to the bat coil or depending on the mixer position may also travel thru a 4 ohm resistor so the swing is not as strong.
Quoted from SteveinTexas:If I could ask you a favor for the baseball game group what rpm motor is your pitching unit fitted with.
Steve,
I will get that info out when I get home.
Do you sell the "flap" that goes over the pitch mech ?
Quoted from heatwave:playing a one-player game is not as fun
I never thought of it that way.
I have been playing it the last few nights since I got it to run. I have been playing alone and it has been "mixing" the pitches and bat strength. It is true that the pitches are unpredictable but so is the bat strength so even if you recognize the pitch you may not be able to hit the ball where you want.
To me it seems so random. Perhaps that is the point. It is difficult to aim for a target because if the bat is in the softer swing you may not have the strength. If it is full swing then you can nail it but it may be too hard and bounce out.
I suspect that is why someone disconnected the rheostat and left the bat at full strength before the 4 ohm resistor played in. I reconnected it as it was from the factory.
I have the rheostat set where if you have a soft swing bat you have to still get a good hit on the ball to make it over the hump. It is a timing thing. If you do not contact it well it will not clear the hump and is a strike.
I
Quoted from PinballAir:Steve,
Do you sell the "flap" that goes over the pitch mech ?
I can make a bunch out of the material I have over. Tell me the length and width you need. You will need to fix to your playfield connecting piece.
Quoted from SteveinTexas:If I could ask you a favor for the baseball game group what rpm motor is your pitching unit fitted with.
Steve PM sent
Quoted from hoov:Listing this in the market today for $1350 - 1960 Bally Ball Park
What do the posts in the foul part of the playfield do? What is their function?
Quoted from Friengineer:What do the posts in the foul part of the playfield do? What is their function?
I got this game in a multi-game deal so I don't know a lot about it and I'm selling because I already have a pitch and bat but........
My guess is the 4 stationery posts in the upper right would make the game tougher by not allowing a bounce off the side into a target - that's if you hit the post on the left side or dead center on the left side of the field or right side or dead center on the right side of the field. But, IMO it would slow down game play thus making game times longer - which would mean less $$$$ for op's on busy games. The posts down low are maybe for decoration only because they too would slow down game play.
There is a TIME OUT insert in the lower left that lights up that is interesting too.
I think the designers want a different look sometimes to set them apart from other manufacturers.
Just my .02
Interesting. The game shown on Clay's sight has one post on each side up top, and no posts at the bottom.
I notice the difference between this Bally game and Williams' games is how OUT's are handled. On Williams, there are two targets at the top of the playfield (one on the left side and one on right side) that if you hit scores an OUT. On Bally, if you look at the bottom of my playfield, you'll notice OUT (in white letters) on both left and right meaning if you hit any of the stationery posts or guides and the ball drains down low you get an OUT. There are no targets for out at the top of the playfield mixed in with the single, double, etc..
Aren't you able to take a second whack at the ball if it were to bounce back towards the bat? Maybe they placed those lower posts to let the player take advantage of that element? Might make sense since they had the posts above that would give it a 'pinball' type bounce/feel.
Quoted from presqueisle:Aren't you able to take a second whack at the ball if it were to bounce back towards the bat? Maybe they placed those lower posts to let the player take advantage of that element? Might make sense since they had the posts above that would give it a 'pinball' type bounce/feel.
Good point
Well, finally down the home stretch on this. Another AlexF successful quest resulted in a Pinch Hitter in the far north (Minnesota). Had to do a fair amount of work, but that was what I wanted. Cabinet repainted, pitching unit working new buttons and bumpers, rebuilt batting mechanism and a host of other odds and ends. I still need to do a bit of tweaking to get some of the hit/out switches dialed in but very playable and a great game!IMG_2704_(resized).JPGIMG_2705_(resized).JPGIMG_2707_(resized).JPGIMG_2708_(resized).JPG
Quoted from Oldgoat:Well, finally down the home stretch on this. Another AlexF successful quest resulted in a Pinch Hitter ......
Brook,
Looks fabulous. 2 player game as well.
Painting looks very good and the trim extra nice. What was your process on getting the trim looking so good? Didn't take you very long either.
My original plan was going to be to sand all the crap off then mix blonde and amber shellac flakes to get the proper vintage shade. Nothing like the enthusiasm one has at the start of a project! However, I realized that removal of the trim was going to be problematic. (The guy I purchased it from had removed the side rails and there was some damage around the nail holes) So that left sanding in place, which is an extremely time consuming, labor-intensive activity. After the pain and hassle of doing the stencils, I decided on Plan B (quick and easy). I simply used lacquer thinner to remove most of the grime and the old paint that had splattered or rubbed off on it. Then put on some additional light coats of high gloss lacquer to give it back the shine. Easy to tape off the cabinet to protect it, so it was very easy and, while not museum quality, good enough for me.
Here are a few pictures of my baseball machine paying homage to the greatest baseball team to ever set foot on the diamond - 1975/1976 Cincinnati Reds. You will note it was built from the ground up.that I built from the ground up. It is a meld of five different Williams machines. I have been working on it for 30+ years and it still is not finished. I had to get written permission from Roger Sharpe to use the Bally logo.
Here's a custom game built around an orphaned running man unit. The running man unit playfield was replaced with lexan to show off the interesting bits below the playfield.
Baseball_Game_sm_(resized).jpg
More info including a video of the game play at: http://markgibson.zenfolio.com/fun-with-pinball-games (at the bottom).
/Mark
Quoted from Oldgoat:Well, finally down the home stretch on this. Another AlexF successful quest resulted in a Pinch Hitter in the far north (Minnesota). Had to do a fair amount of work, but that was what I wanted. Cabinet repainted, pitching unit working new buttons and bumpers, rebuilt batting mechanism and a host of other odds and ends. I still need to do a bit of tweaking to get some of the hit/out switches dialed in but very playable and a great game!
That really turned out great Brooks.
Genco Champion - little ping pong balls fly in the air after hit. One of two games made like this, this things a monster.
United Super Slugger - I refer to this game as the Cadillac of pitch and bats. Running man unit, super home run hole, 3 levels to score a home run, 3 ramps, 3 bat speeds, it has it all. Another huge game.
Keeney League Leader - little metal balls roll down and you hit them into chutes for hits. Not easy to do. Many games made with this feature but most usually mini sized not full size like this one.
I've had a number of pitch and bats roll through the collection and these three had the uniqueness to never leave.
Enjoy
That Genko is huge! It's longer than the United! All of those are just so great in their own ways. Very unique games.
Quoted from AlexF:Got to visit the Disco and play Presqueisle's Star Slugger last night. Super cool game. Very fun and loaded with charm. Nice collection all around and a gracious host.
Thanks Alex, it was nice to have you over. And you're a good dancer.
Few enthusiasts seem to know much about Midway's 1963 Slugger. It's a real "under-the-radar" pitch & bat with a great array of features, i.e. 6 drop targets which disappear flat to the playfield, 9 fly-away targets, 2 ramps, 2 gobble holes, 4 slingshots, variable scoring when lit inserts, a variety of extra ball awards, and a replay award.
The placard above the fly-away target bank illuminates randomly to invite a challenging shot at one of the two ramp targets to score either 30 runs or alternatively win 3 extra balls. The player can swing the bat twice, allowing for pinball-like play when the ball strikes a slingshot. Indeed, a good strategy is to aim for a slingshot in order to accelerate the resetting of certain fly-away targets, which have already been achieved. Whenever I play a Slugger, I'm impressed with its successful playfield design. It's got that elusive "just one more game" addictive quality. All of this in an eye-catching dominant green art package. Also, the Midway games of this era are compact, consuming less floor space than many other pitch & bat games.
Midway employed the add-a-ball feature more than other manufacturers in the early sixties (e.g Flying Turns). This is my second Slugger, having sold the first one (a major restoration project) many years ago. Although I've seen only a handful of Sluggers, this title seems to often suffer from marked backglasses flaking/fading, pitted chrome (particularly the chrome aprons and slingshot covers), target and placard damage, and cabinet paint degradation. This one was in great mechanical and cosmetic shape when it arrived at my house a couple of weeks ago, requiring unusually little detail work.
Slugger is my favorite pitch & bat game, which does not feature a running-man unit, and proof that such a unit is not a requisite to a fun pitch & bat game.
Quoted from ZNET:Midway's 1963 Slugger. It's a real "under-the-radar" pitch & bat
That is a sweet looking game and it is a cool layout.
I am restoring my first pitch and bat, but not my last if I can find another one I can afford.
They all seem to have some feature(s) that makes them fun to play.
The early 60's was a great period in arcade games.
Quoted from PinballSTAR:Genco Champion - little ping pong balls fly in the air after hit. One of two games made like this, this things a monster.
United Super Slugger - I refer to this game as the Cadillac of pitch and bats. Running man unit, super home run hole, 3 levels to score a home run, 3 ramps, 3 bat speeds, it has it all. Another huge game.
Keeney League Leader - little metal balls roll down and you hit them into chutes for hits. Not easy to do. Many games made with this feature but most usually mini sized not full size like this one.
I've had a number of pitch and bats roll through the collection and these three had the uniqueness to never leave.
Enjoy
holy moly man, those are 3 amazing looking games
Quoted from dmbjunky:Here's a Chicago Coin Baseball Champ $850 on CL.
Except for the outside cabinet repaint that looks like a good game.
It does not take up much space and has 2 player and multiple pitches.
Bit of a drive for me...........
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Presque Isle, WI