Growing up, I was continually frustrated playing pinball. Every quarter I’d drop into the slot would produce a minute or two of unsatisfying play, as the silver ball would flash past my flippers, ending the game.
I never had enough quarters. I wouldn’t bash the machines to nudge the ball this way or that, and the few times I did resulted almost immediately in “TILT” coming up in big red letters.
Late this afternoon, after the conclusion of a daylong business meeting in Asbury Park, New Jersey, I found myself surrounded by dozens of pinball machines and vintage video games at the Silverball Retro Arcade.
It was a trip into my past, dredging up memories of playing pinball at the neighborhood bowling alley when I was in junior high school. With a one-hour wristband pass that cost $17.50, I had the run of the arcade and took full advantage.
I tried several pinball machines and rolled a lot of wooden balls in the Skeeball alleys. But what really caught my fancy were a couple of vintage arcade baseball games.
The star of the show was United’s Super Slugger. There were two “pitch” buttons that delivered a silver ball from a long, rectangular chute. You swung the flipper bat hard, medium or lightly by punching down on one of three buttons, respectively.
The ball headed toward slots along a fence to record a hit or (more likely) an out. If you hit the ball hard enough and in certain spots, it got lofted from a ramp to a level or two up for a home run. Any time you got a hit, small figures of ballplayers “ran the bases” above the table surface.
I also played “Baseball Champ,” which gave you options to throw a fast ball, curve ball, slider, changeup or screwball. I found it more difficult to play than Super Slugger, and the design wasn’t nearly as cool. Nonetheless, it was fun.
The arcade also had a couple of the old bowling games in which you slide a metal puck down a wooden lane, passing over spring loaded metal hoops that “knock down” the pins suspended above. That game in particular brought back happy memories of playing those games as a kid, often with my father showing me how to aim the puck.
It was a good day to visit the arcade, as it’s off season from the summer crush on the Jersey shore. The arcade is on Ocean Avenue, a block away from the Stone Pony music club where Bruce Springsteen emerged as a rock star.
I’ll surely go back to Asbury Park to explore more of the boardwalk and town. If you get a chance, check out the Silverball arcade, if only to recall old memories. You might even record a few new ones. 🧢
The Ball Caps Blog 
I remember those 😎👍