Shoot Again Pinball Restored Machine Brings $7,500 at Auction

On Sunday September 28th the Leary Firefighters Foundation held their Hat Trick Charity event which included appearances by several hockey greats and the auctioning off of hockey memorabilia including a Bobby Orr Power Play Pinball machine.

Over 15,500 fans were on hand to see hockey greats Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, John "Chief" Bucyk, Gerry Cheevers, Phil Esposito, Cam Neely and the current Bruins captain Joe Thornton. A historic moment was witnessed during the event as #4 Bobby Orr donned his Bruins jersey and skated onto the ice for only the second time in the last twenty years.

The Bobby Orr Power Play Pinball machine was made in 1977 by the now defunct amusement division of the Bally Corporation. The machine, which was endorsed by Bobby Orr, featured him on the backglass skating against an opponent only known as “The Canadian”. Around13,750 copies were made of this pinball machine and though it is unknown how many are still around it is a safe bet that few if any are in the condition of the machine sold at the charity auction.

Clcik to enlarge photos below
Low view before restoration	After Restoration	During Auction

The machine was restored by Diane Sauer owner of Shoot Again Pinball located in Hamilton Square, New Jersey. “When the game originally came in I could tell it was a diamond in the rough, but knew I could bring it back to its original glory”. To restore the game Diane said that she had to strip the playfield bare removing every part, and then rebuild all of the games mechanisms from the ground up including every flipper, pop bumper and drop target . “I also had to touch up the playfield in a few spots where the paint had worn away due to excessive play and poor maintenance” Diane added. “I was extremely pleased with how it turned out and considered it some of my best work, though I had no idea of the price it would bring at the auction”.

The charity auction was held during the Leary Firefighters Foundation’s Hat Trick Charity Event. There for the auction were several current and past hockey greats as well as many well known entertainment personalities. The bidding was heavy and when the gavel final fell the bidding on the game had reached the incredible final sale price of $7,500 drawing applause from the crowd. The games new owner was comic and actor Dennis Leary who said that he bought the game for his kids.

More information about the Leary Firefighters Foundation go to www.learyfirefighters.org.

Information about Shoot Again Pinball can be found at www.shootagainpinball.com or they can be reached at (609) 587-6593.