ALL-MECHANICAL Arcade Football Game from the 1920s!

[@leoneldemetrio6717]

I'm outstanded by the miniature knitted sweaters on every football player. I wonder who took the time and dedication to do that!

[@alfreddill3251]

Incredible! Nothing beats the sound of vintage coin op.

[@ethanwilliam9944]

This is incredible. Thanks for sharing this.

[@UncleLesterCam]

Another terrific episode, Randy! Thanks for your great commentary and taking the time to show us how the sausage is made underneath the game. The world is fortunate to have you doing what you do - you bring happiness to people through this channel.

[@lewistonmaineiac]

Wow this is something else, this is so cool. Best yet

[@wmspins]

Amazing piece of history. Happy New Year Randy!

[@icychill105]

The people who designed these machines are geniuses. I couldnt begin to think of how to make the mechanism for those games.

[@atmeltronic128]

My great grandma is 100 years old too!! She came from England.

[@ACE324MINER]

If I remember correctly, there used to be a guy down in South Carolina. On one of the boardwalks that had one of these, It was a bit of an oddball machine.Because at some point someone decided to add a rudimentary electrical score system and crowd sounds.

[@Jan_Torf]

Wunderbar !

[@KBMEDIA87]

Amazing how good of shape it’s in I’m sure it got abused like a foosball table at one point

[@cowboycharlie4129]

Hi Randy your video is awesome

[@doctoroctos]

I remember playing a game like this at the Disney penny arcade. This one and the penny movies rarely got used.

[@MainStreetRANDYLAND]

@@doctoroctos I was Main Street Operations, and we controlled operations for the Penny Arcade under our umbrella... I will say the penny machines did NOT get the play that other machines did... Cranking handles to see moving pictures is not novel as it was in 1920. The football was looked upon as a 2 player game, and while it got more play than picture machines, the baseball and gun games were number 1.

[@DeadKoby]

I've been checking out some other channels that fix vintage arcade machines, and I saw this one come up elsewhere on youtube recently. It must be a popular game.

[@billysmidway7032]

A very nice look at a beautiful game. I love having older games in my arcade too, though my oldest is a 1933 Mat•Cha•Skor bagatelle style game. I purposely got it for the older folks to play but there are a few kids who come in and will play it for an hour; dropping one Penny at a time into the mech and pushing in to release the balls and spin the Match-It number wheel. There is something fascinating about mechanical games that even the latest video game can’t match.

[@MainStreetRANDYLAND]

@@billysmidway7032 I love them! Being on the open boardwalk you get a good amount of people who do not appreciate anything, but those who do appreciate are the ones I do it for!

[@billysmidway7032]

@ Much the same for me. I have people who can suck the joy out of me in seconds but I keep my head up and just wait a little while for the dozens of people who appreciate what I do and why I do it. Those are our people. They are the reason I try so hard and get out of bed each day.

[@MainStreetRANDYLAND]

@billysmidway7032 I think I get the most joy suckers because of being in an open boardwalk. But most who come in and proclaim they are "a collector", suck more joy than the average people who walk in. Most people who "collect" are NOT there to have fun playing. Their motives and reasons are to look at your stuff, pay themselves in the back talking about their collection, take pictures, and maybe see if they can get you to sell them some expend machine for 50 bucks. So much better that they never set foot in your door. Families with kids old enough to understand, but not too old to not have fun... They are the best... And that is a might small market.

[@billysmidway7032]

@ I definitely understand that too. Collectors are always asking if I’m selling. No, sir; I’m keeping these so I have games to swap around for maintenance and to keep the collection fresh for the regulars. Fortunately, I see the collectors less than the players. I love seeing people playing games with a big smile after I worked hard to repair them. My 1969 Williams Fast Ball gets played more often than many newer games. Pitch & bat games are lots of fun, especially when you can play 2 against each other.

[@MainStreetRANDYLAND]

@billysmidway7032 fast ball... Wide body pitch and bat with catchers which pop up to catch the ball in the outfield/infield... In the 70s the big arcade I played at had a row of them... Over 6 for sure... I don't recall them getting the heavy play they the ones from the 50s and 60s got in that arcade back in the 70s... I ended up with most of those years later... And I have no idea where I have them...

[@MrKevbo82]

I’m in for the “fill the quarter bucket” challenge. You should make a follow up video for new years 2026 counting how much it made in 2025.

[@LyonsArcade]

Those completely mechanical games are so efficient, and they wear so well, the thing will probably last HUNDREDS more years if someone keeps it dry. Randy do you know if the lights were original or were they originally made with no lights? Other than that it wouldn't even need electricity!

[@MainStreetRANDYLAND]

@@LyonsArcade they had lights in homes in 1924, so I see no reason to believe they wouldn't have been able to have a light bulb in this originally. If you watched my recent video about the old Fascination game, consider that this football machine was made in 1924, and in 4 years, they made the first Fascination system of interconnected machines running bingo in lights! It is really quite astounding

[@LyonsArcade]

@@MainStreetRANDYLAND I did watch those Fascination videos... that was.... FASCINATING!!!! Thank you for filming all this stuff.

[@FadkinsDiet]

Wonder if the figures are lead/tiny like toy soldiers.

[@MainStreetRANDYLAND]

@@FadkinsDiet I think stronger then plain lead or would have broken long ago

[@bigbensynthony3956]

I have 2 questions about this; 1. Do you also have a Chester-Pollard Play Golf? (I can't imagine you'd have a Play the Derby unless you like RSI/exhaustion; the game) 2. National Jukebox Exchange shows a version of the Play Football with a built-in scoreboard... do you plan on getting one of those?

[@MainStreetRANDYLAND]

@@bigbensynthony3956 I remember a version of play football that had a rack score system almost like billiards when you move the discs across on the rod. Probably a leader edition or maybe somebody even added it. But I remember seeing it. Disney how to play golf, add the play to Derby both of which are more rare as the football was the popular version. The football is the only Chester Poland I own

[@bigbensynthony3956]

@@MainStreetRANDYLAND Funnily enough, that mention of Disney lines roughly up with MY memory of Play Golf, not the US location (I've never been to the US), but the Japan location. Tokyo Disneyland had a Play Golf, though I suspect is was custom built because it had indicator lights for the various events (Hole in/Out of Bounds), this was in the Tokyo Disneyland penny arcade... in January 2020. Granted that's 5 years ago but considering the fact that Tokyo Disneyland is choosing to keep Splash Mountain, I have hopes that it's still there.

[@MainStreetRANDYLAND]

@bigbensynthony3956 they likely made it. At Walt Disney World, they made baseball and gun games. They were computer run as compared to the originals which were electro mechanical. I purchased 7 survivors of those custom made ones from there just because they were from there. It was very difficult to get them running as they made them mid 1970s, and parts were hard to find, but I did it, and I ran them in my last place about 10 years ago. Been in storage now 7 years

[@infinite_vortex]

Happy New Year Randy! Very cool to see this. Certainly so many of the soccer, football, and hockey games over the years were inspired by this! Is that mural original by chance?

[@MainStreetRANDYLAND]

@@infinite_vortex yes. Original

[@buserror1]

Heya Randy! And Happy New Year! I have a question -- was "Playland" a franchise? The reason I'm asking, is because I'm trying to find information about the NYC subway arcade shown in the movie, "The Warriors" (1979). It has a "Playland" sign visible in the background. Any info or leads you might be able to give would be greatly appreciated. I'll post a link to that scene here shortly.

[@MainStreetRANDYLAND]

@@buserror1 there were no chain arcades back then... Only independent operators who sometimes have more than 1 place. Playland was a generic name used by various people... Rockaway had playland, Coney Island, belmar... Kinda common like "Penny Arcade"... I remember in Keansburg was the first time I saw an arcade called "Sportland"... I thought it an odd take off... But in Wildwood was Sportland Pier... Hi figure. Many places had Casino... And a Casino Pier... Not related to each other. Just a commonly recognized name especially during that period. I played at Playland for 10 years before I knew it want called Freddie's, as everyone knew it as such because the owner was Freddie Skarpa... I remember when someone told me it was Playland, and directed me to the sign, and I had actually NEVER EVEN LOOKED AT THAT SIGNED! 😂

[@ulexite-tv]

We Californians will never forget San Francisco's Playland along the Great Highway, formally known as Playland at the Beach. There was a Playland in Seattle as well. Part of San Francisco's Playland is shown at the ending of the Orson Welles movie "The Lady From Shanghai."

[@buserror1]

@MainStreetRANDYLAND Perfect! Thanks, man!

[@andrewcalcagno8272]

I'm glad that the Magic Kingdom "Play Football!" machine ended up having a second life after the Penny Arcade closed. Actually, I believe that it's the only Penny Arcade machine left in the station. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the Cail-O-Scopes and Mutoscopes are being rented out from a third party. The Seeburg KT orchestrion has been in the station since opening day, but it hasn't played since 2011 because Disney can't actually profit off of it (sad, I know). I was wondering if you own any mechanical instruments Also, what did you think of Miss Sadie in the Penny Arcade?

[@MainStreetRANDYLAND]

@@andrewcalcagno8272 Disney owned all the machines in the penny arcade to my knowledge. I don't remember seeing any orchestration type of machine in the train station running at any time. Sadie Mae was nice but it was something being enclosed in that giant wooden cabinet they built. I have three band organs, made by Wurlitzer, and two piano type orchestrations but I have not gotten around to restoring the piano ones.

[@MainStreetRANDYLAND]

@@andrewcalcagno8272 kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKLIaHmanL5jrKssi=MdWGyNbyZy9KLbd9

[@proteinwaterfall9148]

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