Flipping Out

Roger Sharpe saved pinball. It's hard to believe now, but pinball machines used to be illegal in cities around the country, even Chicago, the pinball manufacturing capital of the world.

Pinball bans came into effect in the 1940s, because some machines were used for gambling, with lucky payoffs built in. Eventually, pinball makers got rid of the offending elements of chance. And in the 1970s, gaming companies challenged government bans in court.

The chief witness was Sharpe, a one-time managing editor of GQ magazine. With a Tom Selleck mustache stretched across his face, he walked into courtrooms, pointed at the shots he vowed to pull off, a la Babe Ruth, and flipped them perfectly.

This proved pinball was a game of skill, and soon Sharpe's prowess convinced politicos to lift bans around the country.

Three decades later, Sharpe thinks pinball is harder and a younger man's game, especially when he goes to international pinball championships such as the one that hit Las Vegas a few weeks ago.

Sharpe still rocks the Tom Selleck mustache. He tries to tell me about the spirituality of pinball, but I'm more interested in the fact that his wife adorned a pinball machine's back glass while dressed in a bikini.

You see, when he became a star in the 1970s, manufacturers hired him to design pinball machines. His first foray was SharpShooter. The back glass featured Sharpe wearing Western gun wear. Next to him were photos of two women in swimwear. One model was his wife, Ellen.

"She's the woman with her hand a little higher up on my thigh," Sharpe says, grinning.

The other model was the president of the pinball company. Was she also hot in real life? "Oh, yeah," he says, as if I'm crazy for asking.

SharpShooter isn't around anymore. But some machines Sharpe mastered years ago are featured in the addictive little Wii video game "Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection."

If you're old enough to remember these "Williams'" titles, they'll shock you with flawless reproductions. They look exact, down to the grungy 25-cent slots.

On Wii, you "push" the table by shaking your hand controllers. If you push too much, you tilt. This perfect game play makes "Williams" the best pinball video game I've seen.

There are just enough classics to keep you busy for hours at a time: "Jive Time" (1970); "Gorgar" (1979); "Firepower" (1980); "Black Knight" (1980); "Sorcerer" (1980); "Space Shuttle" (1984); "Pinbot" (1986); "Taxi" (1988); "Whirlwind" (1990); and "Funhouse" (1990).

Several classics aren't here. But these make a fun gift, with multiball bonus extravaganzas, great sound effects and unquestionable physics.

In real life, Williams doesn't make pinball machines anymore. It creates gambling machines for Vegas. Today's sole manufacturer is Stern Pinball Inc. in Chicago. Like many companies, Stern is dealing with the recession and, oddly, smoking bans in watering holes, says company head Gary Stern.

"Now," he says, "they may stop at the store and buy a six pack, instead of going out to play in bars."

Or they might stay home and pretend to be Roger Sharpe, playing "Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection." There are worse fantasies.

("Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection" retails for $30 for Wii, $20 for PSP, and $15 for PS 2 -- Plays very fun. Looks great. Easy to challenging, depending on the pinball game. Rated "E." Three and one-half stars out of four.)