1957 Deluxe Baseball

While Gottlieb was arguably the "King of Pinball" in terms of pinball game appeal through the 1970s, Williams was definitely the "King of Swat" with their pitch and bat baseball arcade games. They produced about one new model per year, constantly changing features and designs. The 1957 Deluxe Baseball is one of the most desirable of the classic pitch and bat games. Its appeal may be attributed to the fact that it combines all the best features of the Williams baseball games of that era. Several Williams baseball games had the attractive angled cabinet styling but only the 1957 Deluxe Baseball had the side glasses. The running man unit is at playfield level and creates the feeling that you are looking down at an actual baseball field. The home run ramps launch the ball over the "fence" which is a much more satisfying way to hit a homer than shooting a ball into a hole or target! If you were a kid growing up in the late fifties and sixties you probably remember this machine.

This is a one-player game but has Previous High Score and Grand Slam carry-over scoring features that make it fun to play. The previous high score is shown in red score reels. Beating the previous high score awards 5 replays at the end of the game, and records your score as the next previous high score to beat. When a limit (selectable) is reached the Previous High Score resets itself to 15 at the end of the game. The circuitry to accomplish this is a bit unique in that the reset occurs at the end of a game (and not every game), rather that during the general reset at the beginning of each game. The Previous High Score may also be reset to 15 manually by repeatedly pushing a button in the backbox.

The Grand Slam score counter keeps track of accumulated grand slams, carried over from game-to-game, awarding replays at selectable levels. When 10 grand slams are achieved 5 replays are awarded at the end of the game. Replays are also awarded for selectable levels of Runs and Home Runs. An interesting note about the Grand Slam counter: when 10 grand slams are achieved the tens digit is simply an illuminated "1" on the backglass. When the game ends, the "1" is turned off and the ones digit reel is already at "0", ready to rack up another 10 grand slams. This eliminated the circuitry needed to reset the Grand Slam counter to 0 at the end of the game in which the 10 are achieved.

This game was also made in a novelty version called 1957 Baseball (model #183). Novelty versions did not offer replays, which were illegal in some states because they were considered to be a gambling "payoff." The novelty version did keep track of Previous High Score, Grand Slams, Home Runs and Runs just like the Deluxe (replay) version. The novelty version had white Previous High Score reels in place of the red for the Deluxe version. Still, even with the novelty version, achieving high scores, grand slams, home runs and runs could be redeemed for cash or prizes by the shop or arcade proprietor.