Ballyhoo

On January 10, 1932, Raymond Moloney founded the Bally Manufacturing Company in Chicago, IL. Moloney named the company after his initial product, Ballyhoo, one of the first commercial pinball machines ever created. Ballyhoo bears little resemblance to the current crop of pinball machines, as it possesses no flippers or bumpers, and no single hole at the bottom of the playing field. Instead, players attempted to guide small metal balls through a maze of pins surrounding multiple holes, each worth between 100 and 500 points. Bally produced two versions of the game, one that dispensed five balls for a nickel, and one that provided seven balls for a single penny. The game sold well, no doubt in part to Moloney’s catchy slogan: “What they’ll do through 32… Play Ballyhoo!”