A rare opportunity..

[robertms]

Last weekend while attending the 2021 Chicago Pinball Expo I stumbled upon a rare photo op with a literal Who’s Who in pinball history, some of the greatest minds, designers and creators all in one place at the same time. While they were posing for a drone group shot (hence most of them looking up) I couldn’t resist snapping a few photos of my own. Let’s see if you recognize any of these individuals..

 

 

 

[Onevox]

I recognize the faces but couldn’t put names with them. Ritchie on the left with his Firepower over his shoulder. Tuckey of course, but not sure why. Does he do more than restorations and YouTube videos? Don’t see Gary Stern…. 

[robertms]

16 hours ago, Onevox said:

I recognize the faces but couldn’t put names with them. Ritchie on the left with his Firepower over his shoulder. Tuckey of course, but not sure why. Does he do more than restorations and YouTube videos? Don’t see Gary Stern…. 

 

Gary Stern didn't make the photo op but rest assured he was there, seemed like half of the show was Stern, I counted 26 Godzilla machines alone, lol.

 

Ah, Todd.. well he's a permanent fixture at the Chicago Expo, whatever you think of him, he seems to have quite a following. He brings his entire posse, loves to hear himself yap and give out autographs, kind of a train wreck but actually quite comical.

 

Here is the photo with several name tags for reference. If you haven't heard these names before try googling them along with a suffix "pinball".

 

[Thalamus]

On the very left, with the camera - Imoto Arcade. I only recognized Steve Ritchie, Jack Danger, Imoto and Todd myself. If there where more players; I believe I would have been able to get a few.

[TerryRed]

Todd does restorations, YT videos, still does parties at his shop, sells lots of used and restored arcade and pincabs. I'll say this much.... his videos helped a lot with learning tables and rulesets, and how some of the mechanics work, which have been very helpful.

 

[Wildman]

6 hours ago, TerryRed said:

Todd does restorations, YT videos, still does parties at his shop, sells lots of used and restored arcade and pincabs. I'll say this much.... his videos helped a lot with learning tables and rulesets, and how some of the mechanics work, which have been very helpful.

 

Thats why i love his videos I pick up alot on the backglasses and how they are supposed to work, when i cant figure the lights out ....👍

[Dazz]

Here are a couple more filled in.

[robertms]

 @Dazz  Nice work! BTW, Rob Berk is one of the founders of the Pinball Expo.

[Dazz]

Imoto just gave me a couple more to add...

Zombie Yet and Randy Martinez
In Green - Adam McKinnie - Top 100 player

[Thalamus]

I wonder. Are we able to complete this ? Not that many left. I should have recognized Zombie Yeti. One of the very best artist imo. And. C'mon - I didn't even consider looking at the guys in the back

[robertms]

Eagle eyes @Dazz finding Adam McKinnie in the background, pretty impressive 👍

[JFR1]

I believe that's Todd's sidekick Frank - Lindenmuth? between Todd and Rob.   ...some of these guys really need to start mixing in a salad or two.  

[JFR1]

And that looks like Scott Gullicks of American Pinball directly behind Eric M and to Scott's left would be his team mate Frank Gigliotti?  And the guy two behind Fred Y with the hair I think is Duncan Brown?  I don't know any of this for sure, just had a few free moments and scrolled through Pinball News and google a bit.  Cool shot.  And yeah, things get slow for me at work this time of year.

[robertms]

Good work @JFR1 you correctly got Frank Lindenmuth, Scott Gullicks, Frank Gigliotti and Duncan Brown. I updated the photo accordingly and also added:

• Keith Johnson
• Ted Estes
• Paul Niemeyer
• Brian Hansen
• and Tim Kitzrow responsible for callouts on 20+ classic games

Hope you're looking these names up, each one comes with a fascinating resume. We're almost done, I believe only 3 names remain unsolved.

 

[JFR1]

Fun stuff.  Cool you were in that room at that time.   

[JFR1]

...so...how was it you came to be in that room??

[robertms]

3 hours ago, JFR1 said:

...so...how was it you came to be in that room??

 

The Chicago Expo always features an autograph session and usually all the pinball greats are invited. This year, mostly because of concerns over Covid, the venue has changed from the cozy Westin Hotel ballroom(s) to a trade-show type open space environment. Not my favorite change but because of this the autograph session was held in the middle of the showroom floor so it was easy to see who was coming and going. At one point the organizers decided to pull everyone away from their "stations" to pose for a group shot using a drone, I just happened to be there at the right place at the right time. Too bad Pat Lawlor didn't make the shot, he was there earlier but not participating in this session.

 

These sessions are definitely the highlight for me, most of these guys are super friendly and appreciate anyone with love of pinball. Over the years I've had opportunity to talk with some of them. Imagine discussing with Steve Ritchie  how his Flash and Black Knight impacted my life as a teenager, or hearing first hand anecdotes how the Black Knight Sword of Rage took shape..

[JFR1]

Cool post.  Hope others read this.