For our latest issue, Ryan Smith delved into the seedy history of pinball and the champion player Roger Sharpe, who helped lift the ban on the game while his sons are leading today’s renaissance. We photographed Roger and his sons Josh and Zach, the next generation of champion pinball competitors, at the Stern Pinball factory in Elk Grove Village, IL. It’s the oldest and largest manufacturer and designer of pinball machines in the world. It ships machines all over the globe. Every station of assembly is touched by human hands to create the games themed with everything from Guardians of the Galaxy, to Star Wars, to Stern’s latest machine dedicated to Iron Maiden. We’ve got a few extra looks, from inside the factory, that couldn’t fit in print.
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