PONG




The first Coin-Op Video Game I ever played was a cocktail version of the 
arcade game pong in 1972.  This video game was in the Caboose waiting room
of The Railroader Restaurant of Riverside converted from an old train that
had seen better days on the railroad lines on Arlington/Magnolia Avenue,
Riverside, CA. 

THE RAILROADER RESTAURANT 
Serving famous hamburgers, malts, omlettes, and dinners in authentically decorated
railway dining cars. Enjoy family meals in the atmosphere of turn of the century 
train travel. ALL ABOARD! Redlands, Riverside, Claremont, San Bernardino, Hemet
California.
Riverside - ex-UP #5111 and ex-UP club-lounge #6205 "MOJAVE RIVER"

Unfortunately, this Train, Restaurant disappeared and made way for an office 
building -- Thus my memories are all that is left.

Pong Trivia
The legend of Nolan Bushnell and Pong being rejected by Bally, and putting 
the prototype into Andy Capp's Tavern, a "rustic location" in Sunnyvale, CA,
is true -- at least, most of it is. According to the legend, the bartender 
called Al Alcorn (who built the machine) two days after it was installed and 
told him, "The f---ing thing is broken, get it out of here!" When Alcorn went
to check on it, he discovered that the jury-rigged coin box was overflowing,
preventing the mechanism from registering coins.

pong upright video game




The real story is that it was a polite call two weeks after it was installed, 
where the tavern manager, Bill Gattis, said to Alcorn, "This is the weirdest 
thing. When I opened the bar this morning, there were two or three people at 
the door waiting to get in. They walked in and played that machine. They did 
not buy anything. I have never seen anything like this before." He suggested 
Alcorn should fix the machine since it had developed a following. Alcorn opened
the coin box to treat himself to a free game when quarters came gushing out. 
He scooped up some of the quarters, put them in his pockets, gave Gattis his 
business card and said, "Next time this happens, you call me at home right away.
I can always fix this one." After that, Bushnell decided Atari would manufacture 
Pong itself.

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