UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame
Members

The latest inductees are traditionally announced at the UK’s national pinball show. In 2008 and 2009 that was the UK Pinball Show organised by Nick Bennett. In 2010 Andrew Heighway took the reins with the UK Pinball Party which continued until 2015. After a hiatus for two years, Philip Murphy launched the UK Pinfest show in 2018 which continues to this day, with the induction presentations resuming in 2022.

Here are all the inductees to the
UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame

2024

The UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame continues with another two new inductions as part of UK Pinfest which returns to the Mercure Daventry Court with the induction ceremony taking place on Sunday 18th August, 2024.

Peter Blakemore

Long-standing Special When Lit pinball club owner, show machine donor and top international tournament player.

Philip Murphy

Organiser of the UK Pinfest and NERG shows as well as collector, charity fundraiser and helper to other pinball exhibitors.

2023

The UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame continues with two new inductions at UK Pinfest which is again held at the Mercure Daventry Court with the induction ceremony taking place on Sunday 27th August, 2023.

Steve Pagett

Venerable game seller, collector, operator, show supporter and arcade owner with over 40 years in pinball.

Wayne Johns

Top player, tournament and league organiser, who set a world record for pinball playing while raising huge sums for charity.

2022

The UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame returns to the UK’s national pinball show. UK Pinfest is held at the Mercure Daventry Court and the induction ceremony took place in the main hall on Sunday 28th August, 2022.

Northern Lights Pinball

Team who support numerous shows, introduce many new players and raise huge sums for charity.

Paul Brock

Founder and host of the hugely popular Pinball Info website and community discussion forum.

Lyman F. Sheats Jr.

Ace rules programmer and designer who developed and coded many of today’s most popular titles.

2015

For the eighth year of inductions to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame, the ceremony continued as part of the UK Pinball Party’s awards dinner as it moved to the Heighway Pinball factory in Merthyr Tydfil on Saturday 22nd August, 2015.

Joe Balcer

Joe Balcer

Popular game designer at Stern Pinball and now leading the design of Jersey Jack Pinball’s first title.

Matt Vince

Matt Vince

Pinball collector and founder of the London Pinball game operation business.

Josh Sharpe

Josh Sharpe

World-class pinball player and founder of the IFPA to promote competitive pinball worldwide.

2014

The seventh year of inductions to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame was held at the Daventry Court Hotel as part of the UK Pinball Party’s awards dinner on Saturday 30th August, 2014.

Barry Oursler

Barry Oursler

Famous Williams pinball designer of games including the Pinbot and the Comet/Cyclone/Hurricane series.

Dave Willcox

Dave Willcox

Founder of the Pinball Daze parts business and operator around his native South Wales.

Mike Pacak & Rob Berk

Mike Pacak & Rob Berk

Organisers of the annual Pinball Expo in Chicago which was about to celebrate its 30th show.

2013

The sixth year of inductions to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame continued to be held as part of the UK Pinball Party’s awards dinner at the Daventry Court Hotel on Saturday 10th August, 2013.

George Gomez

George Gomez

A famous pinball designer in his own rights but now heading up the game design team at Stern Pinball.

Phil Palmer

Phil Palmer

Founder of the Pinball Heaven games, repairs and parts supply business.

Dave Rolfe

Dave Rolfe

Popular collector of early solid-state games and organiser of the Welsh Classic Pinball Open.

2012

For the fifth year of inductions to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame we were once again part of the UK Pinball Party’s awards dinner which was hosted at the same location but the newly-renamed Daventry Court Hotel on Saturday 18th August, 2012.

Mark Ritchie

Mark Ritchie

Famed pinball designer and more recently head of development for Big Buck Hunter at Play Mechanix.

Andrew Heighway

Andrew Heighway

Founder of Heighway Pinball and organiser of the UK Pinball Party shows.

Steve Kordek

Steve Kordek

Legendary game designer for Williams who recently passed at the age of 101.

2011

The fourth year of inductions to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame again took place as part of the UK Pinball Party’s awards dinner which was hosted at the Barcelo Daventry Hotel on Saturday 13th August, 2011.

Jack Guarnieri

Jack Guarnieri

Founder of Jersey Jack Pinball and Pinball Sales, manufacturer of popular feature-packed games.

Jay Stafford

Jay Stafford

Co-founder of the hugely popular Internet Pinball Database and pinball historian.

Will Barber

Will Barber

Organiser of the South Coast Slam charity pinball show on England’s south coast.

2010

For the third year of inductees to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame, the presentation took place as part of the newly-founded UK Pinball Party’s awards dinner at the Barcelo Daventry Hotel on Saturday 14th August, 2010.

Dennis Nordman

Dennis Nordman

Famed pinball designer with a long career creating popular and humorous titles.

Gary Stern

Gary Stern

Founder of Data East Pinball, Sega Pinball and Stern Pinball with a lifetime in the business

Mark Squires

Mark Squires

Pinball restorer, organiser of the Swavesey Pinball Weekend and sponsor of the UK Pinball Show.

2009

The second group of inductees to the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame were announced during the UK Pinball Show 2009 awards dinner which was held at the Marriott Northampton on Saturday 25th July, 2009.

Steve Ritchie

Steve Ritchie

Legendary pinball designer with a string of hit titles from his five decades in the industry.

Nick Bennett

Nick Bennett

Founder of Pinballers Anonymous and organiser of the UK Pinball Show.

Gary Flower

Gary Flower

Pinball historian and co-author of the famous pinball book The Lure of the Silver Ball.

2008

The first three members of the UK Pinball Group Hall of Fame were inducted during the UK Pinball Show’s awards dinner which was held at the Kettering Park Hotel & Spa on Saturday 30th August, 2008.

John Trudeau

John Trudeau

Pinball designer who has enjoyed a long history in the business during which he has created many popular classic and innovative designs.

Martin Ayub

Martin Ayub

Editor of Pinball News and owner of the UK Pinball Group who travels the world to report and compete in tournaments.

Andy Netherwood

Andy Netherwood

Owner of the Pinball Mania parts and game repair business who also works as show tech to keep all the games running.