#92 Stern Ali - The Classic Pinball Podcast
Add another Classic Stern to the list: Ali. Dave and George review the game. Dave’s upcoming Warehouse Sale! Time to go to the basement and play a few games. theclassicpinballpodcast1@gmail.com
Kineticist’s take
Hosts review Sam Stern's 1980 Ali pinball: poor sales, weak sounds, good gameplay.
Synopsis
George and Dave review the Ali pinball machine from March 1980, discussing its poor commercial performance (only ~3,000 units sold) despite featuring boxing legend Muhammad Ali. The hosts critique the game's weak sound design (reused Galaxy sounds instead of fight-themed audio), awkward marketing, and underwhelming backglass artwork, but acknowledge solid gameplay mechanics and drop target design. Dave shares a personal story about acquiring a second OXO machine from a Malden, Massachusetts estate sale for restoration parts.
Entities
- Ali· game
- Big Game· game
- Cheetah· game
- Galaxy· game
- Mata Hari· game
- Medusa· game
- OXO· game
- Quicksilver· game
- Seawitch· game
- Malden, Massachusetts· location
- Allied Leisure Industries Inc.· organization
- The Classic Pinball Podcast· organization
- Alan McNeil· person
- Dave Rzepka· person
- George Gomez· person
- Muhammad Ali· person
- Paul Reno· person
- Paul Reno· person
- Sam Stern· person
- Steve Young· person