Steve Kordek coin-op and amusements collection

Collection — Box: 1-13

Identifier: 116.7102

Staff Only

The Steve Kordek coin-op and amusements collection is a compilation of fliers, brochures, hand-outs, manuals, catalogs, and related materials amassed by Steve Kordek over the course of his six decades in the coin-operated games industry. Of particular interest to researchers are early fliers from major game companies such as Atari, Chicago Coin, Midway, Nintendo, Nutting Associates, Sega, Williams, and more. Several fliers and catalogs contain annotations likely written by Kordek. The bulk of the materials are dated between 1968 and 1995, though many fliers are undated.

The Steve Kordek coin-op and amusements collection has been arranged into two series. The collection is housed in 13 archival document boxes.

Dates

1948 - 2004
Majority of material found within 1968 - 1995

Creator

Kordek, Steve (Person)

Language

The majority of this collection is in English, though there are some materials in German, Japanese, and Italian. They are denoted as such in the Contents List section of the finding aid.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection is open for research use by staff of The Strong and by users of its library and archives. Intellectual property rights (including, but not limited to any copyright, trademark, and associated rights therein) have not been transferred to The Strong.

Extent

6.25 Linear Feet (13 boxes)

Additional Description

Abstract

The Steve Kordek coin-op and amusements collection is a compilation of fliers, brochures, hand-outs, manuals, and catalogs collected by Kordek during his six decades in the coin-operated games industry. The bulk of the materials are from 1968 through 1995.

Biographical Note

Steven Francis (“Steve”) Kordek (1911-2012) was a legendary American pinball designer, renowned for popularizing the now-standard two flippers at the bottom of a pinball playing field.

Kordek grew up in Chicago, the eldest of 10 children to Polish immigrant parents. During the 1930s, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and worked for the U.S. Forest Service. He returned to Chicago in 1937 and, according to a popular story Kordek told, was hired by Genco Pinball, Co. after stepping inside their storefront to escape a downpour. He studied at the Coyne Electrical School at night and worked his way up through the engineering department at Genco. Kordek revolutionized the game of pinball after improving upon another firm’s idea to introduce electromechanical flippers to the bottom of a playfield, giving the player more control and turning a former gambling activity into a skill game. In 1948, Kordek’s pinball game Triple Action took the industry by storm, and soon after, two flippers became standard.

In the 1950s, Kordek joined Bally Manufacturing Co., and later, Williams Manufacturing Co. Through his career at Williams, Kordek designed upwards of 20 games per year, and eventually became chief designer. Kordek established other now-key features of pinball games, including drop targets and multi-ball game play. He retired in 1999 following the closure of Williams’ pinball division. Kordek passed away in 2012 at the age of 100.

System of Arrangement

Series I: Coin-op and amusements fliers, 1948-2004

Series II: Coin-op and amusements manuals and parts catalogs, 1967-1998

Custodial History

The Steve Kordek coin-op and amusements collection was donated to The Strong in December 2016 as a gift from Duncan Brown. The papers were accessioned by The Strong under Object ID 116.7102. The papers were received from Brown in four boxes.

Processed by

Kelli Emler Connor, June-December 2016; Julia Novakovic, December 2017-January 2018

Subjects

Record Groups

- List 03. Archival Collections Related to Video and Other Electronic Games

Related Names

Creator

Kordek, Steve (Person)

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title: Finding Aid to the Steve Kordek Coin-Op and Amusements Collection, 1948-2004
Author: Julia Novakovic
Date: 6 February 2018
Description rules: dacs