The Great Pinball Purge: When Mayor LaGuardia Took a Sledgehammer to Fun

Mayor LaGuardia knocking over a pinball machine

In the annals of quirky historical events, few can rival the spectacle that unfolded on January 21st, 1942. This was the day when New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia decided he had enough of the “slimy crews of tinhorns” who pushed pinball machines, likening them to a gateway to gambling hell. The good mayor took drastic action and ordered a citywide ban on these seemingly innocent arcade amusements. And thus began the Great Pinball Purge.

LaGuardia, a tenacious figure of half-Italian, half-Jewish descent, was known for his zealous fight against corruption and crime. He had already made a name for himself by shutting down brothels, rounding up slot machines, and arresting gangsters on any charge he could find. Pinball, in his eyes, was yet another vice to be stamped out. To LaGuardia, pinball machines were not just games; they were insidious devices that tempted the youth into gambling addiction, thereby undermining the moral fabric of society.

In his quest to rid the city of these pernicious devices, LaGuardia ordered the NYPD to prioritize Prohibition-style raids on pinball establishments. Armed with sledgehammers and a mandate from the mayor himself, police officers confiscated over 2,000 pinball machines on the first day of the ban. Nearly 1,500 summons were issued to those unfortunate enough to be caught in the pinball dragnet.

The crackdown was not just about smashing machines; it was also about repurposing them for the greater good. According to a New York Times article from January 23, 1942, the shiny trimmings of the seized pinball machines were stripped and sent off to munitions factories to contribute to the war effort. Imagine the irony: pinball machines, once symbols of frivolous entertainment, were now being melted down to help win World War II. LaGuardia himself was photographed wielding a sledgehammer, triumphantly destroying the machines, a powerful image of his crusade against what he saw as moral decay.

For the next 34 years, pinball remained illegal in New York City, a testament to LaGuardia's influence and determination. It wasn’t until 1976 that the ban was finally lifted, allowing the city’s residents to once again indulge in the simple pleasure of watching a silver ball ricochet through a maze of bumpers and flippers.

Today, pinball is largely seen as a nostalgic pastime, a relic of a simpler era. But the story of Mayor LaGuardia’s crusade serves as a reminder of a time when the battle lines between morality and vice were drawn in the unlikeliest of places. It’s a chapter in history that’s equal parts amusing and bewildering, much like the game of pinball itself. So next time you pull back the plunger and launch a ball into play, take a moment to appreciate the rollercoaster history that brought this humble game back from the brink of extinction.

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