Atari Video Pinball Console (1977)

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I recently got one of these dandy little devices: My Arcade’s cool little Atari 2600 handheld, featuring a big fitty (erm, 50) games from the venerable console-that-can’t-die plus a mess o’ bonus games – some even from the NES library! Now granted, I’ll likely never play most (any?) of those bonus games again (8 Eyes is best left to my memory) and a number of the 2600 titles are best described as filler. (Is Basic Math something anyone actually wants to play? I posit that it is not.)

BUT BUT BUT, there are enough heavy hitters on the thing that it is absolutely worth the money – and it’s not particularly expensive as it is. I mean, officially licensed Asteroids, Missile Command, Yars’ Revenge, Bowling, Basketball (play the computer and feel the intensity), Centipede, Millipede, Crystal Castles and more, all in one delightful lil’ handheld? And as if that wasn’t enough, some of the uber-impressive (Solaris is still a total WOW) 1986-1990 late release stuff is also present. Even with the natural exclusions due to licensing or whatnot, you get plenty of bang for your buck. (Oh sure, I would have went all ‘nanners if Superman, River Raid, Ms. Pac-Man, Xenophobe, Ikari Warriors, Mario Bros., Ghostbusters or any number of other games I can think of, had been included – but logically I know full well why they weren’t.)

HOWEVOY, If there’s one area where I’m a little (but just a little) disappointed with the handheld, it’s that some of the games that originally used the super-precise paddle controllers just don’t play as well with a standard d-pad. I actually got along okay with Night Driver, but games like Circus Atari, Warlords and what you’re seeing above, Breakout, amongst others, stuff like that demands a level of precision that you simply can’t get from a d-pad. (It’s worth mentioning that the newer, larger Atari Gamestation Go portable not only features a ton more titles across several Atari platforms but also includes a legit paddle controller – and a track ball! Rest assured, that device is absolutely on my mental want list.)

In the case of Breakout (and the also-included Super Breakout), it’s particularly disheartening for yours truly, because man, I do loves me some Breakout. It’s primitive and simple and basic – and wildly addictive. Sure, you can play ‘evolved’ versions of the game (Arkanoid is a goody), but when it comes right down to it, plain ol’ Breakout is about all you need. If you’re into twitch, hand/eye coordination play-fo’-yo’-high-sco’-type oldies, that is. Which I am.

And it’s that very catalyst that brings us to today’s update proper.

We’ve looked at old school Pong consoles before (here’s but one of them), but as far as I’m concerned, one of the very coolest 1970s Pong consoles didn’t even actually play, uh, Pong.

Released in 1977, Atari’s Video Pinball was apparently the company’s final dedicated (i.e., all-in-one, non-cartridge-based) console before launching the 2600 (first known as the VCS) later that same year. When it comes to these 1st generation dedicated consoles, Video Pinball is one of my very favorites; it’s in color, it’s wildly addictive, and unlike Pong, it can easily be enjoyed by one player only. That last aspect is surprisingly important to yours truly, because it’s not like I host gaming nights here; nobody wants to come over and play this stuff with me. But with the tailoring to a single player, Video Pinball makes things just a little less sad in my case. I think?

Not counting a Sears-branded version, there were two variations of this machine: a woodgrain version (which I picked up from a secondhand store yeaaaaaars ago), and this creme-colored variant, which I bought online just a few years back. There are slight differences in the games included between the two; the woodgrain has four pinball games, a basketball game, and two versions of Breakout. The version we’re looking at now, however, has the same pinball games, but two basketball games and only one Breakout. In my opinion, the woodgrain console looks better, but the creme-colored one has the better line-up of games; the two basketball games are addicting to the point of, frankly, concern, and when it comes to Breakout, you really only need the standard classic. which this one is. (If there were versions of the creme console that featured the woodgrain line-up, or vice versa, I am unaware of them.)

A close-up of the paddle controller and one of the side-flippers. (There’s another on the, say it with me, other side.) Despite the name of the console, the best stuff (in my opinion) actually isn’t based on pinball. Then again, I’m not really a huge fan of pinball in general, so your mileage may vary. Every once in a great, great while, I’ll get on a bit of a pinball kick – I recently spent some time playing Pinball on the NES (not Pinbot, just original generic Pinball) – but that’s about it. Also, I don’t much care for that one song by The Who. Sorry.

In addition to those controls, if you scroll back up and look at the console as a whole, you’ll see the line-up of buttons along the top. They’re pretty self-explanatory; power turns the old beast on, select, erm, selects your desired game, option fiddles with the difficulty (number of lives/balls, size of paddles/flippers), reset starts your game anew, and ball serve serves the ball. (Go figure!)

Like I said before, I bought this particular unit online for pretty cheap a few years back. I forget how much, around $15 or so (at last check, and it has been awhile, Video Pinball generally wasn’t commanding premium prices). The system was untested, but I’m almost never concerned with that; these oldies were built to last. And really, aside from the power button being flaky and the optional battery compartment refusing to power the console (there was what appeared to be a negligible amount of corrosion in there, but even after cleaning as best as I could, it was a no-go; luckily, a 2600 power supply works just fine – and probably a preferable power source anyway), I’ve had no beef with the beast. The paddle was initially pretty jittery – which is entirely commonplace and expected – but a quick cleaning settled that issue with ease.

After all that figurative dust settled, I’ve really, really enjoyed this thing. It’s pure arcade-at-home addictiveness. Well, via 1977, anyway. Let us now dig through the line-up of games Atari provided for the gamin’-hungry masses with their bell-bottom jeans and big hair…

(Also, I just held my cellphone up and took the following pics of the games playing on a Trinitron. I could have went through the hassle of getting actual, legitimate screencaps, but it would have been an awful lot of trouble for an article only 12 people might ever actually read.)

Here’s plain, regular default pinball.

Needless to say (but I’m gonna say it anyway), since this is 1977 technology we’re gawking at here, blockiness is the order of the day. Still, all things considered, this is reasonably pinball-esque. I mean, you’ve got flippers and, I dunno, bumpers or whatever. It works, it’s fairly fun, but I have spent, by far, the least amount of time with the pinball variations on this console.

There is a neat option with either of the two pinball ‘tables’ included, though. You can play with the expected flippers…

…or by hitting the option button you can opt for a Breakout-style paddle! This of course changes how the ball reacts physically, playing more like it does in Breakout than how it does during ‘normal’ pinball. I think I prefer normal pinball physics (or at least as normal as 1977 tech could get them), but this is still an interesting option.

Pictured here is of course the other pinball table you can select. I think I like the first one just a bit more, but both are fine, I suppose.

Pinball is all well and good, but after that comes the stuff I really like on this system.

What you’re looking at here is the first variation of basketball. Is that the NBA Finals I’m watching?! The manual actually calls the game “rebound” but I think that’s some jive.

What isn’t jive though is that this approximation of basketball is fun. Like, legitimately fun. What you do is ‘dribble’ the ball on your paddle without dropping it off the screen, and after a few dribbles, attempt to launch it through the block net for a cool two points. C’mon, dribbling, nets, two points, that’s totally basketball! It all comes down to timing and position and angle and whatnot, and no joke, it’s crazy addicting.

The second variation is just as much fun, maybe even a little more so!

Here, the gameplay is the same, except the basket has been tripled. Each basket counts for two points, and you can launch the ball towards the sides, but the obvious goal is to get it down from the very top, netting you a big six points instead of a potential two or four. It’s a lot of fun. Now see, if the NBA started doing things like this, I might actually take an interest in the annual All-Star Game!

(Also, this second variation was the one left off the woodgrain Video Pinball console.)

(Also also, sorry; there was just no way to get decent pics of these basketball/rebound/whatever games.)

Annnnd finally, the game that got this whole article started in the first place: Breakout! In lieu of basketball/rebound II, the woodgrain model instead featured a second Breakout variant called Breakaway. That’s absent here, but I can’t really get upset, because hey, Breakout!

This is such a gaming staple that an explanation probably isn’t needed, but just in case, the object is to use the paddle to deflect the ball towards colored blocks, steadily chipping away at the wall they conveniently make up. ‘Course, the ball gets faster as you progress, and once you hit the top of the screen, your paddle shrinks. It can get really hectic! You’re given seven lives/balls by default, and though that can be adjusted, you’ll probably need ’em all, because you can go through them fast in Breakout.

There’s a reason this game is such a timeless classic: it’s crazy addicting. Now granted, this is old school arcade stuff, i.e. you’re really just playing for a high score. If you’re not into that sort of thing, neither this game nor any of the others on this system are probably going to do much for you.

Speaking of high scores though…

…the console saves your scores. Sorta. It doesn’t really save your highest score though, just the score of your last game. So if you scored 100 points one game but only 10 the next, guess what? That 10 is what’s going to displayed during the next new game.

Seen here was, by far, my highest score in Breakout; a whopping 839 points the preceding game! I nearly cleared the second board! It’s a good thing I snapped this pic when I did, because I didn’t top the score with this new game, and afterwards, it was gone forever. (I didn’t really pay attention to my scores in the other games on Video Pinball. I think I hit over a hundred in the second basketball variant once, but other than that…?)

This method of recording the score probably isn’t what you’re expecting when it comes to this sort of thing, but it is a nice way of getting you to try n’ top your last game, I guess. Just make sure you snap that pic while you have the chance!

So that’s Atari’s 1977 Video Pinball console. Well, the creme-colored model, anyway. I’m not kidding, if you’re into old school arcade gamin’, I dare say it holds up better than your usual Pong presentation. A lot of that probably depends on if you have someone to play with/against, but regardless, the games in Video Pinball are just so much more up my alley.

If you’re in the market for a dedicated 1st gen video game console from the 1970s, you’ve got plenty of options available. There were a LOT of them released before cartridge-based systems became the norm. But with this one here, you’ve got the brand name, you’ve got a terrific selection of games, and you can play it all by your lonesome!

As such, Video Pinball gets my highest recommendation in this particular arena. And as we all know, my recommendation is of tantamount importance. (No joshin’, this thing is a whole lotta fun!)

Neato ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN Print Ad (via WBFF-TV 45, from somewhere in the 1970s)

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I likes me some comic books, and while there are certain titles, or at least certain eras of certain titles, that I’ll collect year-round, I also tend to get on specific kicks. For example: a month or two back, I was focused on 1980s and early-1990s Batman, by way of both his self-titled series and Detective Comics.

But now, as of this writing, I’ve kinda swung back around to a mid-1950s to mid-1960s DC, specifically Superman and Batman, kick. (Granted, that’s really one of my year-round interests anyway, but…)

As such, I guess it’s time to pull this dandy little piece of comic-related memorabilia out of my figurative back pocket:

What you’re looking at isn’t a promo card or the like, but rather a 1970s TV Guide ad for local airings of Adventures of Superman aka just plain Superman. This, of course, was the 1950s syndicated TV series starring George Reeves, who I don’t believe for a second killed himself, reruns of which aired for decades afterwards. Still do, in fact.

You may naturally assume this was something i found and clipped out of a TV Guide myself. No no no! Rather, there’s a (small) cottage industry online of people who sell these isolated clippings for, I presume, big big profits. Well, profits, anyway. I myself couldn’t bear to tear into an old TV Guide, but admittedly I have gawked at various promo ads for sale, though near as I can recall our subject today was the only time I ever actually bought one. While generally not prohibitively expensive, it’s hard for me to reconcile buying an isolated ad for around, or perhaps even more than, what the entire TV Guide itself would probably go for. (Provided I could find the right region and issue, that is.)

So why did I buy this one, some roughly 8-10 years ago? After all, it was local, but not local to me, instead hailing from the Baltimore viewing area. So why the fascination?

Simply put, because i just thought it looked cool. Seriously, I think that artwork was, and is, terrific! I couldn’t resist; indeed, upon arrival I held the ad in high enough regard that I ended up displacing some old Cleveland Indians card in favor of giving the Supes thing the plastic holder you see it in above.

I suspect, but don’t know for certain, that the art was locally produced in Baltimore. Obviously it was just an artist’s rendering of Supes as seen during the intro to the show, along with his alter ego Clark Kent ordering a pizza on the phone, but it just looks good to me. Even better in the card case, in my opinion.

It’s hard to see, but the station I.D. seen in the ad was for Baltimore’s WBFF-TV 45. When I bought the clipping, the date it was from was noted, though I no longer recall what it was. I want to say 1976. Logopedia sez that particular logo was used from 1974 to 1978, so it was from somewhere thereabouts, at any rate.

Look, it may be a very, very small piece of George Reeves Superman paraphernalia, but I think it’s just plain cool, and sometimes, that’s all it takes. (Especially when it pertains to a TV show that is in my top ten all favorites.)

Vintage Acme Supermarkets “Meat” Token (1963)

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorry for the lack of updates, or at least ‘big’ updates. Life has been getting in the way as of late, and I’ve found that when I’m not busy, I’m tired from being busy. So, yeah.

Anyway, I wanted to write something King Kong-related for today, because, you know, Thanksgiving. And if not Kong, then at least something ape-like. I had a particular subject in mind, but the required object has not as of yet entered my orbit, which, you know, is pretty much a prerequisite to successful article writin’. Instead, here I am busting out a quick stop-gap post on Thanksgiving day.

(If you really want something King Kong-by-way-of-me though, you can check out last year’s big update, or revisit this oldie-but-goodie, which continously garners enough views year-round to give me some vague sense of satisfaction.)

ANYWAY, I still think today’s subject fits, because, I don’t know, Thanksgiving, food, grocery stores. You make the required mental leaps, okay? Dig this:

You wanna talk local? The Acme chain of supermarkets isn’t just local, but a veritable Northeast Ohio institution! As such, I tend to collect memorabilia pertaining to them – with one of my best finds being this plastic token from 1963, in which their ability to sell meat is exhorted. I don’t know why “the” is treated parenthetically, nor do I know the actual purpose of this token; some kind of discount not unlike your typical wooden nickel, mere advertising, or…? Maybe it was from a new store’s grand opening or sumpin’.

Nevertheless, as someone who likes both Acme and delicious meat products, I approve of the overall message. Not to mention the attractive red color scheme and actual 1963 copyright date printed on it. Not only does it totally save me the hassle of trying to narrow down when it hails from, but it’s also easy on the eyes; talk about a winner!

This wasn’t a new find of mine in the least; I got it yearrrrs ago, and frankly I can’t even remember from where exactly. In fact, the picture above isn’t even recent – I took it quite awhile back, and the pic just happened to cross my path earlier today, hence this resulting post. Had that not happened, it’s doubtful I would have written an update today at all! I’m not even sure where the token itself is at this very moment; I think I wound up putting it in a little cushioned jewelry box that’s now buried somewhere, but don’t quote me on that when you inevitably talk about this post with your family around the table tonight.

As a collector of local memorabilia and a sucker for all things Acme, this token really was a neat find, not to mention something I haven’t come across since buying it some 10-to-15 years ago. I don’t know for sure where I put it, but I’m sure glad it’s there! (Wherever “there” is…)

So, that’s that. Have a great Thanksgiving everybody! Eat turkey, be thankful, watch football, and so on and so forth.

Vintage(ish) Noid Halloween Masks!

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Alright gang, here’s the situation: here at casa de mi, there’s currently a PC switchover in progress. Rather than wait any longer till things get settled, I’m writing this from my phone. Note that I really, really don’t like writing on my phone; between autocorrect and my hitting the wrong key with my stupid dumb thumb, not to mention a general sense of less control over the proceedings, I’m just not super comfortable doing things this way. As such, this’ll be a fairly breezy update. Right now, I’m not even sure if I’ll get the annual ‘big’ Halloween post up – though the fact I’m still unsure what exactly I want that to be is a factor, too.

Maybe this will end up being the de facto Halloween update, maybe not. We’ll see what happens.

Anyway, this post certainly fits this time of year. And bonus: I already had the pic handy, because it was actually taken years ago. Dig this (well, these):

Those are indeed Noid, of Domino’s Pizza fame, Halloween Masks! Well, I guess they don’t technically have to be for Halloween (indeed, I’d encourage and applaud year-round usage), but needless to say, you’re more likely to see someone sporting one of these during this particular time of the calendar.

Now, you may look at these and, quite reasonably, figure they hail from the late-80s or early-90s. That’s when Noids roamed the land freely, after all. But, much to your (and my, to be honest) surprise, these weren’t a second-hand find at all. Actually, they were found and bought brand new…in 2007.

September 11 (boo), 2007, to be exact. I know this for a fact because, while this pic was taken years ago, I naturally still have these, and pulled the bag they reside in out earlier today. Wisely, I kept the original receipt with them.

Funnily, when I first extricated these from my closet some years back (but well after they were first obtained), I had only the vaguest (at best) recollection of even owning them. Not so unusual, considering all the frivolous junk I bring home, but nevertheless, these were essentially a ‘new’ find to me. I duly placed them in a relatively safer spot, where they have more or less resided ever since. Perhaps shockingly, I have thus far avoided inadvertently smashing or otherwise heavily damaging them. (They’re made of that really thin, really fragile plastic that makes them susceptible to cracking/breaking/etc. pretty right from the onset. That isn’t unusual with this kind of mask though; it’s not like they were meant to be industrial strength.)

After I found them, I gradually dredged up long-dormant memories of my mom finding these at local legend Mr. Funs, and knowing how bizarre quirky I am, not to mention my ongoing Noid fandom (it’s basically been a lifelong thing), kindly picking them up for me. Or at least that’s to the best of my recollection. I don’t think *I* was there when they were found.

The masks are pretty self-explanatory, but my main point of interest, then and now, is just how late in the game they were available to purchase. Now, it’s not inconceivable that they’d sit around forgotten for years at a stretch, but even so, 2007 seems OBSCENELY late to me. The Noid was primarily a mid-to-late-80s phenomenon, albeit one that stretched into the early-90s.

If I’m understanding that price sticker on the tag seen in the pic, it looks like it’s dated ’01? I might be getting that wrong, but assuming I’m not, that’s still waaaay past when I’d expect Noid masks to be produced. And looking at the tag itself, I could be wrong here too, but it seems like it’s far more recently-produced than what I’d expect to see from the Noid’s salad days. It just looks ‘new’ to me.

Of course, I could be way off-base here. Maybe they’re still producing these things nowadays, I dunno. In these retro-friendly times, it might even make MORE sense to produce these today. (Though as I recall it, there *was* a wave of 80s nostalgia during that rough stretch of the 00s.) Maybe they never even stopped making Noid masks, I couldn’t say. No one tells me these things.

At any rate, finding something this decidedly tied to the pop culture of 20 years prior as late as 2007, it still tickles me to this day. The fact they came from Mr. Funs, man, that’s just icing on the cake; I haven’t been there in awhile, but I loved going to Mr. Funs. I’m way overdue for a revisit.

So, yeah, if you were in the right place at the right time, you could find brand new Noid masks as late as 2007. That’s something to be treasured. (Especially when, nearly 20 years after that, I can get a quick post out of ’em.)

Happy Halloween or whatever. (Unless I see you then. If I have to write from my phone again, the odds aren’t good.)

Gordy International’s Batman Racing Game (1988)

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I know, I know; I took all of July off. Sorry.

I intended on getting this update posted last week, but man, I was sick as a dawg. The very thought of staring at a computer screen and thinking of words to put in some kind of readable order for any length of time, well, it just sounded like pure torture to me. (I’m feeling heaps better now, at least physically, not that you care.)

Anyway, given the new movie, I wanted to write about something Superman related, and indeed, I gave some thought to digging up my unfinished review of the Atari 8-bit Supes game and, uh, finishing it. But I wasn’t really feeling the subject, so you’re getting Batmang instead.

(By the by, I liked the 2025 Superman. Maybe not loved, but liked. There were some things I would have preferred been different, but all in all, I found it to be an enjoyable flick, so why complain?)

Today we’re looking at the Batman and/or Batmobile Racing Game (the package says one thing, the actual game says another; I’m just gonna refer to it as Batman Racing Game for the duration, okay?), as put out by Gordy International Toys waaaay back in 1988. This thing is closer to 40 years old than it isn’t. Depressing? Well sure it is!

This handheld contraption actually reminds me of The Amazing Spider-Man Rescue Game (remember that?), except that’s it’s involving a different character from a different comics publisher, the game is of an entirely different style and genre, it’s not even slightly electronic, it IS slightly newer, and it was way, WAY cheaper, both in price and build.

(Actually, when I put things that way, just about the only similarities between the two are the whole superhero handheld game aspect. So what point am I even trying to make here?)

Speaking of cheap, this was really just a grocery store rack toy from back in the day. What exactly was/is a rack toy, you ask with righteous-yet-unwarranted indignation? It was an inexpensive toy meant to keep ornery children occupied for a minute or two. There’s even a fanpage (and accompanying book!) for ’em out there in innernet land!

I personally never had this particular specimen back in the late-80s/early-90s, at least not to the best of my recollection, but I absolutely had stuff like it. Indeed, I had (and still have) a very similar Ghostbusters driving game, though it hasn’t functioned correctly in decades. And I can certainly recall being with mom at Finast and seeing/getting some of the cheapie playthings not unlike Batguy here. So yeah, I’ve got some nostalgia goin’ with this.

Look close and you’ll see the remnants of a price tag on the card; this was initially purchased at a now-defunct Duckwall-Alco, and while the actual price portion of the sticker is MIA, I bought another one of these things, still fully sealed (this one ain’t, hence the review), and that one sez it only cost $1.99. Even in 1988 dollars, that wasn’t exactly breaking the bank. Something tells me that’s probably just about what we’re looking at today originally cost. Rack toys were not pricey items. (Of course, there are still cheapie toys to be had nowadays, though I’m not sure if they’re still considered rack toys or not. At any rate, now is as good a time as any for an obligatory Kung Fu action figure link.)

I bought this particular example as complete-but-opened, which turned out to be wise, because the play instructions (such as they are) are printed right on the sides of the card:

Oh we on the honor system now! There’s no way to keep score on the handheld itself; you’re strictly on your own here. This turns out to be a difficult, yet exceedingly brief, challenge, but we’ll get to that in just a bit.

(Oh, and for the record, the back of the card is totally blank, so I’m foregoing a pic of it. I mean, why bother? There’s not much I can say about nothing, man!)

Here’s the extricated handheld. Molded in an attractive light blue with a yellow title sticker along the top, coupled with the colorful graphics of the game itself, Batman Racing Game honestly looks pretty cool. Even the dashboard sticker, while strictly decorative, is neat. Or at least fitting; things would look emptier without it!

The character illustrations really take me back. It was in that general era that I first got into Bats. And you know, those late-80s/early-90s comics still hold up as terrific reading today. No jive, I was dog-sitting at my brother’s some weeks back and brought a stack of readers I got out of the dollar box at my local comic shop with me, and I found myself pretty engrossed in ’em. Nicely drawn, well-written, and with some dark nihilism sometimes running throughout, I was totally reminded of just why I got into Batman in the first place! (Granted, my adult eyes appreciate all of this more now than my lil’ kid sensibilities ever could back then…)

Weight-wise, Batman Racing Game is light. Very, very light. Despite the wedge-like shape of it suggesting a makeshift door stop, which I attempted to show here, there’s very little heft to lend much success in the endeavor. I’d venture to guess that being hit by one of these things would largely be akin to being pelted by tater tots: mildly annoying but no real harm done.

(Of course, I’d never suggest actually whipping one of these at someone. It might still hurt them, and besides, you’d risk breaking your Batman Racing Game – and that’s not a very wise usage of your Batman Racing Game investment, is it?)

Here’s how you play the game: turning that knob on the left side of the unit scrolls a paper roadway, while steering the, erm, steering wheel, uh, steers your little plastic Batmobile. The idea is to stay on the road as much as possible, though as previously stated, there’s no automatic scoring, so who’s to know if Batman occasionally clips the curb? It’ll be your little secret!

And you will go off the road, at least a bit. The streets are twisty turny, but the problem is, your Batmobile is molded in a, for lack of a better descriptive term, straight line. Oh sure, you can angle it to the left or right somewhat, but there’s no way to really ‘keep’ on the road, because the ‘stick’ the Batmobile is on is centered in the middle, but the road often isn’t. Batman may be a deliverer of justice, but I’d like to think he also tries to be a conscientious driver as much as possible. Here, it’s not really possible.

As you can see, the Joker is on the premises, and there are appearances by Penguin and Riddler as well (see if you can spot the latter’s delightful cameo in the pic here!), but they really don’t have any bearing on the gameplay (such as it is). Unless they all collaborated on misaligning the Batmobile’s wheels, they might just all be out to taunt Batman as he fails to properly maneuver his own car. Or perhaps more likely, they’re just there for decoration.

To add a little spice to the game, there are a couple dead ends you can hit, though I have no idea if running into one counts as just a lost point or is supposed to end the whole game entirely. I guess that part is up to you! It’s not like there’s anything to make the gameplay stop, short of your thumb getting fatigued from endlessly turning the knob. (Or something breaking, which given my history with rack toys, was/is a real possibility.)

Of course, since there’s only about (and this isn’t a joke) a foot or so of paper road to scroll, it doesn’t take much accumulated memory to recall where the dead ends are, or to complete the circuit entirely in very short order. You can go faster or you can go slower, you can use your imagination as to what the plot of the game is, but frankly, there’s just not much to it.

But then, it was like a $2 game; why nitpick? And you know, for as simplistic as it is, I really do dig this thing. Not only is it nostalgic, but it just has a very cool, and very fitting, comic book look to it, as you may well expect. I have no idea when it hit shelves in 1988, but you gotta figure it was around when the hype – and subsequent release – of Tim Burton’s ’89 Batflick was at full force, and if so, it was certainly around at precisely the right time. it sure couldn’t have hurt sales, at any rate! Especially not at that price.

Speaking of sales, nowadays, you’re not exactly likely to be tripping over these things while walking down the street, but they are fairly plentiful for sale online, and for the most part they’re relatively inexpensive. You’ll be shelling out a bit more than two bills, but like I said earlier, I was able to purchase both a sealed carded example as well as the one we’ve just looked at, and at no point did I feel the need to turn to an imaginary camera and shed a single tear.

So, what now to do with Batman Racing Game? I think I’ll set it aside, and next time I hold a Frasier-esque dinner party for my friends, whoever is waiting to play the Dragnet puzzle game can bide their time with this. That way, everybody’s happy! Well, occupied, anyway.

VHS Review: Madacy’s 2-Tape DRAGNET Set (1992)

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“Oh dude, this guy can’t even be serious right now…Dragnet again?!“

Look, I didn’t intend to hit the subject of Dragnet again so soon after already looking at it not once but twice recently. (Well, relatively recently.) BUT, I had really been wanting to take a look at some Madacy (I’m currently in “nostalgic 90s budget VHS” mode), and truth be told, I’m still in a Jack Webb mood anyway, so this just kinda happened. Stay with me here though, cause this one’s kinda neat. Well, I think it’s neat, at least.

(Wacky Fact: I’ve never seen He Walked by Night, and not only did that film feature Webb and actually lead to the creation of the original radio Dragnet, but there’s also a 90s Madacy issue of it on VHS to boot. As such, I originally intended on picking up a copy, which would have, in theory, provided today’s update. But, I, uh, ain’t purchase it, so I ain’t write about it. Yet?)

Why the current Madacy kick? Like I said, nostalgia. Budget tapes put out by them (apparently the company no longer exists) were once found in abundance in Best Buy’s much missed (by me, anyway) $2.99 VHS section. While in retrospect their selections were by and large the usual public domain offerings, if there’s one area in which Madacy excelled, it was presentation. While they tended to reuse the same pictures and descriptions over and over again (see: any one of their myriad releases of Metropolis), Madacy was really, really good at clean, attractive presentations. Oftentimes, they’d switch up the packaging, even classing it up with shiny foils on occasion, but the print contained within the tape was always the same – even if it was perfectly crummy (see: Metropolis). They even liked to play into the whole “golden age of Hollywood” aura, regardless of whether the property was a Hollywood product, or even American, at all. (See: Metropolis.)

They also liked to notate their releases as collector’s editions, though they rarely, if ever, actually were; bare bones EP recordings without extras were the order of the day – even if the EP recordings were often touted as “highest quality” on the back of the sleeves. (Seems like a bit of an oxymoron to me, but whatever.)

This Dragnet set, while not one I recall seeing back in the day (I almost certainly would have gotten it when my fandom of the franchise first struck in the late-90s, had I come across it), certainly checks off much of what I’ve just talked about. Stock photo of Jack Webb’s Sgt. Joe Friday? Check. “Collector’s Choice” emblazoned over a shiny red foil banner? Check. Playing up the whole golden age of television aspect? Check. The front cover certainly looks good, if nothing else.

The back of the sleeve really has more general information on Dragnet as a whole rather than anything specific pertaining to the contents of this set, but it does manage to impart a “specialness” over the whole thing. The broadcast history is nice enough, and the cast listing is fine, though aside from, obviously, Jack Webb, only one of them is present across these tapes. (Despite the implications, neither Harry Morgan’s Officer Bill Gannon nor any of the ‘early’ partners to Sgt. Joe Friday are here. You only get Ben Alexander’s Officer Frank Smith throughout, though that’s not a bad thing.)

Like the front cover, there’s a stock shot of Joe Friday on the back, though I have no idea what he’s doing, and both pics appear to be from the 60s iteration of the show besides. The four episodes found here, however, are all from the 1950s version.

Speaking of which, the whole reason I wanted to do this review was because, of those four, three of them (“The Big Deal,” “The Big Net,” and “The Big Lift”) are harder to find. (“The Big Crime” tends to be commonly found.) Now, I don’t want to say those three are exactly hard to find, this tape set was mass produced and isn’t exactly rare or expensive to acquire, and besides, you can probably find all this stuff online nowadays anyway. But when it comes to 50s Dragnet collections, particularly in the DVD era, buy enough of ’em and you start to see the same episodes over and over and over. As such, whenever I come across episode titles that don’t immediately ring a bell, I take notice – even if they’re on VHS.

Okay, see if you can follow along with this, because it might get a little confusing. This set came out in 1992. In 1993, Madacy way outdid themselves with a 10-tape/20-episode collection. (Like our subject today, they certainly could have done some condensing and put more than two episodes per tape – all four of what we’ll see momentarily could have easily fit on one VHS – but I’m guessing that the bigger the set, the easier it was to ask for more bucks. Big leap in logic there, huh?)

That 10-tape collection is, to this day, one classy looking product, and while I don’t remember seeing it at Best Buy back in the late-90s, I do recall seeing Madacy’s somewhat-aesthetically-similar big ol’ Charlie Chaplin boxsets. To my young eyes, they looked so clean and attractive and comprehensive that, despite my being a huge Chuck Chaplin fan at the time, I don’t *think* I ever asked for or even considered getting one. Not seriously, anyway. Just seemed too prohibitively expensive to my 11/12 year old self. (Looking back, the cost probably wasn’t too terrible for the time, though given the EP recordings and public domain content, well…)

ANYHOO, of the three harder-to-find Dragnet eps in this set, only two made it to that 10-tape set; “The Big Lift” was completely MIA. (And just to spite me for what I said only moments ago, “The Big Crime” wasn’t on it, either.) Nevertheless, if VHS is still your bag, from strictly a quantity standpoint, that 10-tape boxset by Madacy is one of the best that can be had – plus it’s inexpensive to acquire, and frankly, just looks good. Even today! I told ya, Madacy knew how to sell a product!

BUT WAIT, that’s not all: when Madacy later put out a whopping 25-episode collection on DVD in the 2000s, you’d naturally think that they just used all they had from the VHS years in one relatively comprehensive DVD collection. But in actuality, there’s actually a number of differences between that 10-tape VHS set and the later DVD release. (I’m not bothering with pics; you’ll just have to look ’em up yerself, if you’re so inclined.) Despite there only being a difference of five episodes between the two, there’s a handful of installments found on the VHS that aren’t on the DVD – and vice versa. Still, like the big VHS boxset, if DVD is your thing, that set is, to this day, one of the better ones to be had. It’s just that, if they had put everything they had previously released on it, it would almost certainly have been/be, far and away, the best DVD collection of the 1950s Dragnet commercially available.

Oh, and while on the subject of other Madacy Dragnet releases, one more thing before we look at the episodes proper: where our subject today is concerned, this actually isn’t the first one I bought. I picked up another copy a few weeks ago, but when I went to play it, despite the labels on the tapes listing the supposedly correct contents, the actual recordings were simply the first two volumes of that 10-tape set. Evidently there was a manufacturing goof somewhere down the line! Upon this discovery, I had a few reactionary options: hot, bitter tears, a tense Jack Webb-esque lecture (directed at who exactly, I couldn’t say), or the resolve to try again and just go buy another. Or any combination of the three.

I opted to just try again. This ‘correct’ copy was, I assume, from a different run; the reels in the tape were, rather than the standard kind (which was what the other set sported), of the big wooden wagon wheel spokes variety. (I’m not bothering with pics of this, either.) Anyway, my point is, if you’re interested in getting a copy of this tape set yourself, just be a little cautious. Luckily, copies for sale online are plentiful and cheap.

Here, both tapes feature this little intro before heading into the show(s) proper. I vaguely recall The Golden Years of Television as a (syndicated?) TV showcase back in the day, but I may be confusing that with something else. At any rate, the other ‘wrong’ copy of this set definitely did NOT feature this.

Look close: that’s Andy Devine with Froggy the Gremlin! I chose that shot specifically because, well, you know, Ghoul Power. “Hi ya gang, hi ya hi ya hi ya hi ya!”

Tape #1:

“The Big Deal” – An organized car theft ring is jackin’ automobiles, and it’s up to Friday & Smith to stop them.

Interestingly, during what would have been the original commercial breaks, this print features brief title cards stating, “end of prologue,” “end of act one,” etc.  Also, it’s worth noting that there’s no real action in this episode – it’s pretty much all interrogations. They don’t even show the actual climatic bust; in fact, two of the three perps aren’t shown at all until the ‘trial results’ reveal at the very end! Despite all that, and despite featuring a plot that, on paper, I generally wouldn’t find very captivating, this one held my attention. A real testament to just how well-written 50s Dragnet could be!

“The Big Net” – A rash of purse snatchings are afoot; women are being robbed and slugged for ’em! A host of policewomen, with appropriate backup, are stationed about in hopes of finally stopping the cad behind the robberies.

The title of this ep is very, very apropos. This is a very good example of a real “dragnet operation,” as the undercover cops attempt to finally ‘net’ the robber, whilst Friday & Smith have to contend with suspects who may be good for crimes, but not these specific crimes. Similar to the preceding episode, we don’t see the actual perp until the results at the end. There’s a real downer conclusion to this one, though we go get a terrific last line from Friday.

Also, this episode takes place on and around Thanksgiving. Add it to your holiday viewing schedule? There’s a scene where Friday & Smith, forced to be on duty, downheartedly “celebrate” the big day at a diner – where all they can get is sliced rabbit! They’re not exactly ecstatic about the option.

Tape #2:

“Toasty!”

“The Big Crime” – Two little girls have disappeared from a park, and while they’re later recovered alive, they’ve been molested. Friday & Smith need to track down the monster responsible, for obvious reasons.

Like I said before, of the four episodes in this set, this is the only one that would be considered “common” (I didn’t even need to actually watch watch it for this review), which is somewhat ironic, because, boy, I’m hard pressed to think of a 50s episode of any series with darker subject matter. Not saying that there aren’t/wasn’t, just that I can’t think of any. SVU and the like may have desensitized (to an extent) viewers to this sort of thing nowadays, but it’s still wildly uncomfortable (as it should be), and frankly, pretty shocking when seen in a show from the 1950s. And the final declaration from the perp as Friday & Smith arrest him is truly chilling.

A captivating episode, but obviously not exactly good time party fun (which Dragnet didn’t exactly specialize in anyway). We do get to see Joe Friday go all Johnny Cage on the suspect, though. (Ever the stickler for proper police procedure, it was in self-defense, of course.)

“The Big Lift” – This is the episode that didn’t make it to Madacy’s 20-episode VHS set or 25-episode DVD set. Here, a burglar has been hitting a neighborhood on a regular basis, and the citizenry are becoming increasingly frustrated with the inability of the police to stop him.

Like every episode in this collection, this is a good installment that held my attention, though truth be told, I just don’t have much to say about it. There is a funny bit where a victim keeps reminding Friday & Smith who her husband is. Also, like the first episode on the first tape, there are brief “end of prologue/act” cards during what were the original commercial breaks.

Look for a cool, albeit brief, shot of Friday & Smith behind one of those big see-through city maps. In fact, I was a buddy and provided it as the screencap for this episode right here! Because I care. I didn’t mean to capture Frank Smith looking so angry.

Annnnd, that’s it. No, this isn’t a comprehensive collection of Dragnet episodes, but it is a strong selection, especially considering three of them don’t tend to show up in compilations very often.

But it’s really about the set as a whole here. Not only do you get four strong episodes, but it just looks good. (Rather than attempting to return it – something I very, very rarely feel the need to do anyway – I used that first ‘error’ copy of the set as a display piece; it’s now part of a random menagerie of ‘stuff.’) Plus, hailing from a time when you couldn’t just hop online and find this kinda content with just a few clicks of the mouse, it actually manages to feel kinda, I don’t know, special, I guess. Plus, it reminds me of something my grandma would have had in her VHS collection, though she didn’t.

Of course, in actuality this is just a budget VHS set recorded in EP and that used more tape than needed and quite possibly cost more than it should have (at least initially). But you know, somehow it manages to transcend all that and become something worth having, even today. Maybe that’s just combined nostalgia for Madacy and fandom for Dragnet on my part, but considering official licensed releases of this version of the show have thus far eluded us, I dare say there’s still some value to be had here. It probably helps if you’re still sporting a VCR, though.

As I said before, this isn’t something I came across at Best Buy back in the day, but I’d have gone nuts for it if I had. I was a sucker for all things Dragnet at the time, after all. (Not unlike nowadays, come to think of it.) And considering my intro to 50s Dragnet came via two separate tapes from that Best Buy $2.99 section, sporting but a single episode each, and I went nuts for those, even if it was a few bucks more, a double tape/four-episode set would have been considered a real score.

Hey, I consider it that now, come to think of it. Maybe that “collector’s choice” banner on the front cover wasn’t meaningless hype, after all!

Vintage (?) Ghoul Pocket Mirror!

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I picked up this cool little piece of Ghoul Power memorabilia a little over two years ago now, just keeping it in my (figurative) back pocket until I deemed the time right for an update. The time seems right today. But whether I end up writing about them or not, trinkets like this are something I’m always after, so when it popped up for sale online, man, I was all over it, right quick.

Coming via a seller in Michigan, from a location relatively near Detroit (you know, Ghoul country), I don’t know if it originally hailed from there exactly, but apparently in the viewing area either way. The again, people do move, so…?

With the iconic Ron “The Ghoul” Sweed caricature emblazoned over a white background, does this look like a common garden variety pinback button to you? Well sure it does! But, it’s not. In fact, I think it’s quite a bit cooler than that. It’s the size of a pin, but in actuality, it’s…

…a pocket mirror! A Ghoul pocket mirror! I couldn’t, and can’t, recall ever seeing one of these before! And I like it a whole bunch!

Being a mirror, this naturally seems like a piece of memorabilia perhaps better suited to The Ghoul’s female audience. You know, throw it in the purse, have it at the ready so she can check her makeup and/or hair, all while also ably demonstrating her Ghoul Power fandom. (Sounds like the girl o’ my dreams!)

‘Course, I don’t mean to sound sexist here; it’s not like men wouldn’t have use for a lil’ pocket mirror, too. I mean, didn’t The Fonz like to make sure his hair was perfect? (I’d rather reference Sam Malone here, but The Ghoul apparently bombed in Boston when he was briefly syndicated there in the 1970s, so that’s out.)

You really can’t see it in my picture here, but around the edge, Badge-A-Minit of LaSalle, Illinois is notated. I couldn’t find a really decent article on them to link to (this thread here is okay), but apparently, they sold button makers for hobbyists to, uh, make buttons with. As such, I’m really not sure if this pocket mirror is officially sanctioned or not. It certainly could be a fan-made item. The quality of the image on the front is high enough that I’m operating under the assumption that it’s legit however, and besides, nothing says The Ghoul and/or his crew couldn’t use a Badge-A-Minit whatever in-house to be producing these. Plus, for all I know, people could place orders with Badge-A-Minit and have things manufactured for them. I’m unsure on that aspect, so hopefully someone in the know will chime in.

From my (admittedly brief) research on Badge-A-Minit, it seems products bearing their moniker were fairly common in the 1970s and 1980s, which would very much line up with The Ghoul’s television runs in the Detroit market. Plus, given the general wear and tarnishing to the mirror, there certainly seems to be some real age to this thing. Nevertheless, I can’t be sure, hence the “(?)” in the title in this update. It definitely looks like it could be either from the 70s or 80s to me, though.

Here, one more pic, just to show that the thing still, erm, works. (Ha!) Please enjoy the texture and color scheme of the couch. See, still entirely functional! (“Gee, you don’t say!”)

Of course, this isn’t the sort of thing I’d use; this is a collector’s item, dude (dudette)! I can use a ‘normal’ pocket mirror if need be, or, you know, my phone.

No no, a pocket mirror featuring The Ghoul on it is something to be treasured, something to be cherished. After all, who know if or when I’ll ever come across one again!

So in summation: it’s a pocket mirror, featuring The Ghoul logo on one side, that presumably hails from the general Detroit area, likely from either the 1970s or 1980s (or both). It may or may not be officially sanctioned by The Ghoul and/or his crew, but one thing’s for certain: it IS officially cool!

Old Flats (as in Cleveland) T-Shirts

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As I hope you all know by now, I’m always on the lookout for old local, as it pertains to me personally, memorabilia. Of course, “local” to me means anything Northeast Ohio; as much as I maintain an interest in “Clevelandy” things, I have never actually been a Clevelander. Doesn’t mean I won’t turn into a babbling maniac (figuratively) if I find “sumpthin’ good” from there though – or a simpering mess (figuratively?) if I miss out on something of a similar stature.

I’m not sure either of the two t-shirts we’re looking at today quite rise to those esteemed levels, but I like ’em plenty. Enough to shell out the dough for ’em at a thrift shop, on two separate visits, some time back, at least.

If you’re from around these parts, you need only to hear the words “The Flats” and no further elaboration will be necessary. The famous (and infamous) industrial slash residential slash recreational district in the Cuyahoga Valley is something local denizens automatically know about – even if you have never actually frequented it. Granted, you may have to be of a certain age for that last observation to apply, but for people like me, you always just sort of knew about The Flats, whether you’d been there or not. And to the best of my recollection, I haven’t; I was too young for the bar scene during the heyday of The Flats, and nowadays, well, that scene just isn’t my, uh, scene, man. (Plus, it’s kinda far away besides.)

Still, because it’s such a piece of Cleveland history, I naturally take some interest in it, though to be frank, only one of these shirts was purchased specifically because of its provenance and not because of an, for lack of a better description, additional factor. Read on and hopefully that last statement will make sense eventually.

Truthfully, this first shirt here is my favorite of the two, because it’s just such a throwback – even though people almost certainly still sell memorabilia like this nowadays. I don’t necessarily mean in The Flats specifically either, just in general.

Dig this: it’s an airbrushed Flats t-shirt! As in actually showing off the location! The neon colors just scream early 1990s to me, though I don’t know when or where it was actually produced. There’s no date, with only an artist’s signature I can’t exactly use (or even decipher, truth be told) for additional research.

I imagine this was a souvenir sold somewhere “on the premises” (huge educated guess there, huh?), maybe even airbrushed on the spot for the purchaser.

Like I said, it looks early-90s to me, and since the tag states the shirt itself was made in the USA, there definitely seems to be some age to it. Might even be from the late 1980s, I dunno. The material is incredibly thin, as was common with t-shirts back in the day, though this may be less of an indicator of age and more of a cost-reducing measure by the airbrusher. It might even be described as less of a tee and more of a full-fledged undershirt. Regardless, I sure like it.

I think what really gets me with this one is that it’s not something mass-produced that you could just go and pick up at any store; near as I can figure, you had to “be there” for it. That, coupled with the fact that I just think it looks neat, makes it irresistible to yours truly. Plus, the chances of me coming across another are decidedly thin. Even thinner than the material of the shirt itself? Sure, why not.

And now on to the other Flats t-shirt…

Wacky fact: before digging it out earlier, I couldn’t remember where this shirt we’re about to see hailed from. As such, this update was originally going to be split into two separate posts. But when I extricated the thing from a pile of other shirts and saw it was also from The Flats, well, it wasn’t exactly a shining example of ingenuity to combine both into one single article.

This shirt here is from the Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, which, if I have the location correct, appears to have since closed, though in slightly more recent times than you may first assume when it comes to The Flats.

Aside from the logo on the front (and the declaration that “You haven’t hit The Flats until you’ve hit Rock Bottom” on the back), there’s not much for me to talk about graphically. It’s interesting, it’s local, but honestly, I didn’t buy this because of aesthetics or because it hailed from The Flats.

Why did I plunk down the dinero for the shirt, then? The additional factor(s) I mentioned earlier, that’s why! I know they’re hard to see (don’t worry, more pics are forthcoming), but notice those signatures scrawled on the front of the shirt? I doubt the thrift that put this out knew who they were from, but it didn’t take me long to realize who the signers were: from left to right, the shirt was signed by John Webster, John Lanigan and Jimmy Malone! WMJI’s morning show guys of the 90s! Now that’s cool!

John Webster (who has since passed on) was a bit before my time on the morning show. He had left it in 1997, which was around or a year or so before I started listening to WMJI – and even then, I didn’t really listen to their (or anyone else’s) morning show until even later than that. By the time I came around, the show was simply Lanigan & Malone.

I may have had little personal experience with Webster, but I certainly knew of him by the time I came upon this shirt. Since I never had the opportunity to meet him myself, this was the next best thing, y’know? I can’t quite make out what all he inscribed here; “Thanks for —“ what? Does that say “listening,” or are those two separate words? I’m flummoxed! Still cool to have though, and unless I’m forgetting something, it’s the only example of Webster’s signature in my collection.

(By the way, I’m just going to go ahead and figure these signatures are all legit. Just thought I should add that somewhere in the post.)

John Lanigan, though, Lanigan I did get to meet. It was at the 2011 Moondog concert (a then-annual oldies show put on by WMJI, commemorating Alan Freed’s original Moondog concert). The station had their morning show personalities set up at a table in the lobby of the venue, and you could meet them one by one, going down the line. I got autographed pics from each and every one (with one notable exception; more on that in a bit), including Chuck Collier (who suddenly and sadly passed some months later) and, needless to say, John Lanigan.

Lanigan, who has since retired, is one of my favorite local personalities. Lanigan & Malone was generally my morning show of choice back in the day, and when it comes to local TV, his stint(s) as host of WUAB’s Prize Movie, boy, that’s one of my top pieces of interest when it comes to regional broadcasting.

And finally, we have Jimmy Malone. He joined the morning program later, making the duo of Webster and Lanigan a, erm, trio. Like I said, Lanigan & Malone was the iteration I was most familiar with over the years. Plus, if I recall correctly, it was Malone who brought “Knuckleheads in the News” to the program – a bit that was always a crowd pleaser.

It was also Malone who was the sole WMJI personality I wasn’t able to meet at that 2011 Moondog concert. I forget the reasoning behind it, if indeed I even knew to begin with, but his chair was empty by the time I made it down the signing line. Maybe it was a bathroom break, or maybe he was preparing for his hosting duties of the rapidly approaching concert. At any rate, I didn’t get to meet him or get a signed pic. But unbeknownst to me at the time, I would eventually end up with his signature. (That’s it right here, man! Not a bad consolation prize!)

As to why these signatures are on the Rock Bottom shirt, I couldn’t say. The safe guess is they were doing a personal appearance at the place, though maybe they were just there having a meal or a drink and someone asked them to sign their shirt real quick. I obviously couldn’t say for sure one way or the other, and the details may very well be lost to time, but if nothing else, it’s a cool, and definitively “Cleveland” artifact to have.

So there you have it, two vintage t-shirts from The Flats. Even though I prefer mediums, they are both larges and thus wearable by yours truly, though I’m not gonna do that. I have no shortage of shirts to wear whilst out and about, and besides, I’d be afraid to wash ’em! The Rock Bottom one, obviously I’d be concerned about dimming or washing away the signatures (plus it still has the new tags on it), and the airbrushed shirt, given the thinness of it, not to mention the, you know, airbrushing, it just seems like something I should handle gingerly. Also, if I were to wear one or both outside and a stain or tear should occur, I’d get supremely cranky.

I may not feel comfortable wearing them (figuratively, not literally, I mean), but boy, as pieces of Cleveland history, I’m sure glad to have snagged them! (Also figuratively, not literally, I mean. Snags would make me supremely cranky, too.)

A Roller-Skating Pizza? On a Hockey Puck? Yes and Yes!

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I like vintage pieces of local advertising. You know that. I particularly like when said vintage pieces of local advertising are related to pizza. You know that, too. It doesn’t necessarily even have to be local to me to pique my interest, though that certainly helps. When it comes right down to it, I like promotional items that point to a specific time and place, a definitive era. And if that item happens to be a little oddball, off the beaten path if you will, then hey, all the better.

I may not have been as mentally eloquent about it when I stumbled upon our subject today for sale online, but that was the general thought process when I finally decided that, yes, this was indeed something I’d like to purchase. I had no illusions of it being a monetary investment or anything like that, I just liked the cut of its jib.

Wait, can hockey pucks have jib? Cause this is a hockey puck, and I strongly suspect that it does. Dig this…

Your eyes don’t deceive you; that’s a hockey puck in my paw, and it’s sporting a roller-skatin’ pizza pie. And that roller-skatin’ pizza pie is adorned in bell-bottoms. Dude, that’s not oddball; that’s awesome.

Obviously, this didn’t originally hail from my neck of the woods; this was a Canadian innovation. French-Canadian, to be exact. I evidently have some French-Canadian blood in my, erm, blood; I could say I was just tapping into my heritage or something when I hit the “buy dis” button for this some months back, but the honest truth is I just thought the thing was neat lookin’.

Promoting Le Restaurant D’Youville of Quebec (if this was the same place, it appears to now be closed), I know not what year(s) this puck originally hails from, but a pizza on roller skates, in bell-bottoms no less, gives me some real roller derby vibes. Late 1970s? Early 1980s? Man, I don’t know. The amount of wear on the puck would point to some age (I can’t even really read what it says on the upper-left of the pizza due to that; “Ste Roy,” maybe? Is that a French-Canadian thing?)

Or maybe there were literal roller-skating pizzas on the premises. Methinks that would top Chuck E. Cheese’s offerings! (Also, the notion of real live roller-skating pizzas has to instantly rank amongst the dumbest things I’ve ever posited on this blog.)

Look, I really know basically nothing about the restaurant itself; I just really, really like the image used for advertising it here!

The idea of a promotional hockey puck may seem a little ‘out there’ to some, but they’re actually relatively common. Of course, I imagine that kinda depends on where you’re from and whether you have major (or minor) league hockey teams in the vicinity. I’d guess this sort of thing is even more common in Canada, for obvious reasons, but I’ve seen local-to-me examples, too. I even have a Cleveland Barons/WJW 850 AM puck tucked away somewhere. So, just like old belt buckles, hockey pucks may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to vintage advertising, but they can indeed be a good source of it. If you’re into this sort of thing, anyway.

As for this puck here, there’s nothing on the underside, and just a statement of “Made in Czechoslovakia” along the edge (I’m not taking a picture of it, you’ll just have to trust me on this). Look, when you’ve got a roller-skating pizza in bell-bottoms, you’ve already hit a home run scored a goal; what more do you really need to add to the pitch?

How one went about getting one of these originally, I do not know. Giveaway at a local team’s games? Freebie at the restaurant? Both? Neither? No idea. Maybe a reader living in Quebec at the time can fill us in in the comments. (Yeah, sure, real likely.)

‘Course, if someone reading does know, please comment in English, because the French I took in high school, it, uh, hasn’t exactly held up. (It’s a wonder I ever managed to pass that class.)