The man credited with inventing pinball gaming, Steve Kordek, died last week according to a report in Time Magazine.

Kordek designed the two-flipper pinball machine which became popular in the 1940’s, and went on to build over 100 pinball games during the course of his career. His game Triple Action revolutionised pinball when it was released in 1948.

Later on Kordek added direct-current power to the flippers, enabling players to strike the ball all the way to the top of the table for the first time.

He is also credited with inventing the first drop targets as well as multi-ball play.

His best know pinball tables include Space Mission, which was inspired by the space race, as well as Grand Prix and the poker-themed Pokerino.

“Steve’s impact would be comparable to D. W. Griffith moving from silent films through talkies and colour and CinemaScope and 3D with computer-generated graphics,” Roger Sharpe, author of Pinball! (1977), a history of the industry, told the New York Times.

Steve Kordek

Source: Time