Kick off the ultimate face-off — Alvin G. and Company’s A.G. Football is a genuinely original head-to-head pinball machine, a sibling to the company’s soccer-themed title, built for competitive two-player duels from the inventive family firm founded by the Gottlieb family. Designed by Jerry Armstrong and Michael Gottlieb with art by Tim Elliott, this scarce solid-state title carries a confirmed run of just 500, making it a real find for the collector.
The layout is remarkable and symmetrical: a full six flippers, six ball kickers, eight standup targets, four spinning targets, two three-bank drop arrays, two kick-out holes, and two up-posts between the flippers. That kicker-heavy, mirror-image design turns the machine into a sporting battle played in pinball form, with two players attacking and defending as they fight to drive the ball past one another toward a score. It’s a wonderfully unconventional concept that transforms pinball from a solo high-score pursuit into a frantic, head-to-head contest, and those six flippers and six kickers keep the action fast and furious from end to end.
A.G. Football is a terrific showcase of Alvin G. and Company’s willingness to break the mold, the small manufacturer chasing bold, different ideas that the big houses rarely attempted. The competitive face-off format gives it a social, adrenaline-fueled energy all its own, and its scarcity makes it a genuine treasure for the collector who prizes the rare and the offbeat. For anyone who loves pinball as a two-player battle of reflexes, it’s a blast. Work those six flippers, defend your end, and outscore your rival. It’s a sporting duel and a pinball machine rolled into one original, competitive package. Game on — may the best flipper win.