Brunswick Mfg. Co.

Brunswick Mfg. Co., rooted in the J.M. Brunswick Company founded by John Moses Brunswick in 1845, built its reputation as an American leader in billiards and bowling equipment before the Brunswick-Balke-Collender evolution that expanded the firm into lodging, recreation and coin-operated amusements. While best known for revolutionizing bowling—most notably with the introduction of the automatic pinsetter in 1956 that reshaped the company’s priorities—Brunswick briefly produced tabletop amusements and early pin-type, proto-pinball devices that appeared in bowling alleys and billiard halls. Operating in the pinball and home pin market from the 1930s through about 1980, Brunswick Mfg. Co. released a small, collectible lineup of machines including Alive, Demolition Classic, Aspen and Circus that are sought after by vintage pinball and coin-op collectors. Today Brunswick’s legacy in recreation lives on through its core business lines—bowling, billiards, marine propulsion and fitness—while its brief but notable foray into coin-operated games remains an important chapter in the history of vintage pinball and tabletop amusement manufacturing.