Ali

Ali, manufactured by Stern Electronics in 1980, celebrates the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. Designed by Harry Williams with artwork by Bob Timm, this solid-state pinball game features vibrant backglass art depicting Ali in action, one of the few games from that era to prominently feature African Americans.

Like Muhammad Ali himself, this is a fast, bombastic game that never lets players forget who they're up against. The table is festooned with famous Ali-isms, such as "I am the Greatest", "Three-Time Champ", "Ali Shuffle" and "Rope-A-Dope", all drawn with comic-style pop lettering. The center of the playfield has a portrait of Ali pointing at the player along with a facsimile of his signature, while the backglass features the boxer's face surrounded by his form in the ring. The game also supported the then-new Susan B. Anthony dollar coin, and gave players an extra game for using one.

Aside from being one of a handful of pinball machines themed after an individual athlete, Ali is memorable for being one of the few Stern pinball games that was actually designed by Williams Electronics' founder Harry Williams. The machine enjoyed a production run of 2,791 units.