“1948 United “Wisconsin” pinball machine with an unusual and unique “roll-over” design. At the time, pinball machines were illegal in certain states because they were considered gambling devices. The United Mfg. designers, however, found a way to circumvent the current gambling laws by offering a game of “skill” as opposed to a game of “chance”. When you coined up, the player would launch each of five pinballs with a lever to an outside trough, and then pick up the ball and “skillfully” roll it across the glass where it’d drop down and roll into play. Flippers were toward the upper half of the playfield and all but useless. Note the raised glass shield that prevents a player from putting a hand into the playfield.”
John Spina
