Trade Stimulators sat on bar counters for over 100 years providing patrons the opportunity to take a chance at winning small prizes like cigarettes as these small mechanical games of chance sprung to life with the drop of a coin. Some were actually skill games, but all of them were there to keep butts in the seat at the bar to buy more drinks! The first time I played a game like this wasn't at a bar, but at the snack counter of a roller skating rink in Ohio. I was a kid at a birthday party at the Skate-A-Way in Chester, Ohio and instead of alcohol, I was kicking back a tall cold grape NEHI when I discovered the Kicker Catcher machine. I never forgot it either! After inserting a coin into this counter top game, you would KICK a steel ball with the turn of one knob, and try to CATCH the ball with the other knob as it filtered through a series of metal pins. Heck, it was like PLINKO from the TV's The Price Is Right!
For years I never saw this game again, but it was always in the back of my mind. I would see some on eBay over the years and even saw one for sale at an Virginia antique store two years ago - but the prices seemed over inflated to me. As luck would have it this summer an out of area ad popped up on my Facebook marketplace selling a "basketball pinball" game! The machine was dirty and missing the back glass - but I knew what it was! Instead of a small metal football receiver to control with the left knob, it has a basket to move about so I knew this was the basketball version. He was asking a price I couldn't refuse, so I took a small road trip to the Georgia mountains and picked it up! Upon getting home, I realized it needed some work internally as well having a piece of plexiglass in front instead of the painted glass. Some of the mechanical parts inside were frozen up, springs were loose, the score counter would not reset properly, and I needed a new cabinet lock. But LUCKILY everything was a simple fix with some TLC, cleaning, lubrication, and adjustments!
But what about the glass? You don't find these old painted pieces of glass at Walmart. I decided that if I could not find a vintage glass I would get a piece cut and paint my "own" custom game on the inside and redo the cabinet art on the exterior. But as far as a vintage one I figured I had one shot asking someone who MIGHT have the glass or know where I could get one - Roger Hilden at Crow River Trading (www.crowriver.com)! For years I bought obsolete and vintage gumball machine parts off of Roger and he is an expert in this field! Low and behold he had the correct vintage LONG SHOT basketball backglass for me! So over the next few weeks it all came together and this past week I finally moved the game from the shop into my home.
The J.F. Frantz MFG Co. started making these 'Kicker Catcher' games in the mid to late 1920s during the prohibition era. The machine came in different variations over the years with different styled cabinets and art, but the essence and game play stayed the same. Different back glasses and a few parts swapped could change if from football to basketball (like mine), Baseball, and even a Pot-O-Gold version with a Leprechaun! My version is from the mid 1960's, and as you can see it has some wear and tear from almost 60 years of game play. Never the less, I am very excited to now have this piece that I loved from my childhood in my collection at home!
