- ipdb.corporate_entity_name
- Bally Manufacturing Corporation
- ipdb_id
- 3025
- ipdb.image_urls
- ["https://www.ipdb.org/images/3025/image-1.png","https://www.ipdb.org/images/3025/image-2.png","https://www.ipdb.org/images/3025/image-3.png","https://www.ipdb.org/images/3025/image-4.png"]
- ipdb.manufacturer_trade_name
- Bally
- ipdb.model_number
- 184
- ipdb.notable_features
- 5-cent play, 7-coin multiple, console cabinet.
- ipdb.notes
- This game appears on pinball lists as the two-word name "Club House" but actually it is Not A Pinball and is an upright 7-coin console slot machine.
Its glass shows the same outdoor scene as Bally's 1937 'Fleetwood'.
We previously showed a date for this game of November 1937 but the October Billboard announcement (shown here) indicated the game already was in full production at that time.
Bally documentation lists this game twice. First as Model 184 and later as Model 197. In both instances, they show the name as three words, "Bally's Club House".
Bally announced this game in The Billboard, Oct-16-1937, page 92 as allowing any number of players, from one to seven, to play. In the ad's text, Bally refers to the game both as "Club House and "Bally's Club House".
We don't know what differences may exist between Model 184 and subsequent Model 197. However, the pictures in the two Billboard ads shown here, dated only two weeks apart, provide a possible explanation, if only cosmetic. We list their differences:
Billboard ad dated Oct-16-1937
The name shown is three words, "Bally's CLUB HOUSE".
The name appears in dark-colored (or black) letters.
Horse No. 4 is on a dark background and Horse No. 6 is on a light background.
The seven numbered Selections appear on circles of multiple colors.
The Odds numbers are displayed as dark numbers on light backgrounds for all Positions of Win, Place, Show, and Purse.
The coin payout drawer has a rectangular front.
Billboard ad dated Oct-30-1937
The name shown is two words, "CLUB HOUSE". The manufacturer's name has been replaced with a picture.
The name appears in light-colored (or white) letters.
Horse No. 4 is on a light background and Horse No. 6 is on a dark background.
The seven numbered Selections appear on circles having the same light color.
The Odds numbers are displayed as light numbers on darker backgrounds, apparently different colors for each Position.
The coin payout drawer has a square front.
In addition, the metal trim around the coin entry "topper" may differ in width and quantity between the two games.
A color photograph (not shown here) presents a game almost the same as the one in the Billboard ad dated Oct-16-1937 except the name is shown as two words, "CLUB HOUSE" along with a scenic picture in place of the Bally name, just like the game in the Billboard ad dated Oct-30-1937.
In the Oct 30th ad, Bally still refers to the game as "Bally's Club House" even though their company name does not appear on the game pictured in this ad.
A subsequent Bally ad appearing three weeks later for another slot game, "Saddle Club" (in The Billboard, Nov-20-1937, page 92, not shown here) refers to this game only as the one-word "CLUBHOUSE". Omitting the "Bally's" reference to this game does not look inadvertent because in this same ad the manufacturer lists their game Bally's Stables. All ads that we found that were placed by distributors or resellers used the single word, "CLUBHOUSE".
It would appear that Bally decided to remove their name from this game shortly after initial introduction. More information is needed to know if these cosmetic differences define the two model numbers, along with any internal mechanical differences.
If anyone has access to one of these games, we seek photographs of inside the game and outside, and a photo of any model number or other production stamping, as well as manufacturer documentation.
- month
- 10
- player_count
- 7
- technology_generation
- electromechanical
- theme
- Sports
- theme
- Equitation
- theme
- Horse Racing
- year
- 1937