Founded: 1932, Chicago, Illinois
Founder: Raymond T. Moloney

Ray Moloney founded Bally Manufacturing during the Great Depression, originally to produce a coin-operated pinball game called Ballyhoo—named after a popular magazine. The game was such a hit that Moloney named the company after it, launching what would become one of the most iconic names in arcade history.

Throughout the 1930s–50s, Bally was a major producer of mechanical games, jukeboxes, and slot machines. But it was in the 1970s and early ’80s that Bally became the name in pinball. With titles like Eight Ball, Mata Hari, Paragon, and Xenon, Bally dominated arcades, known for sleek art, smart playfields, and mass appeal.

They embraced early solid-state technology, leading the charge with digital scoring and deeper game rules.

People Who Made Bally Great

• Raymond Moloney – The visionary founder who saw potential in a game during a hard time.
• Greg Kmiec – Designer of many Bally classics; known for daring, complex layouts.
• Ted Zale – Bally’s innovation guru; introduced zipper flippers, multi-level playfields.
• Dave Christensen – Backglass artist with a wild, rebellious style.
• George Christian – Programmer behind Eight Ball, Flash Gordon, and others.
• Claude Fernandez – Designer known for sleek, fast machines.

Legacy

By the mid-1980s, Bally’s pinball division merged with Midway, and then was acquired by Williams. But Bally’s DNA lives on in some of the most beloved games ever made. Machines like The Addams Family and Twilight Zone—released under the Bally name by Williams—remain top-ranked to this day.