[FSPA] Happy 30th Birthday, FSPA!

Sat May 31 14:01:49 EDT 2025

Awesome you need two NBA Fastbreaks Howies only had one 

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

On Saturday, May 31, 2025, 1:16 PM, Wei-Hwa Huang via FSPA <fspa at fspazone.org> wrote:

I used to think Howie's food must be bad because every time I ate there I would get these stomach pains.  But eventually I figured out those pains were actually from just being really nervous playing competitive pinball.

I think it's rather amusing how every pin you mention in your post -- CV, AFM, MM, TAF, and yes, even Breakshot -- are all in the line-up in the second house I bought to host the pinball league that I run now.  (And I only own two of them!)  Good thing nobody has fond memories of Stargate!

If any FSPAers are ever in Silicon Valley, drop me a line and I'll be happy to show off the "Pinhouse".
On Sat, May 31, 2025 at 6:59 AM denirostyl--- via FSPA <fspa at fspazone.org> wrote:

Happy birthday FSPA!

In 1998 I was a junior at UMCP, and even though my family has been in this biz my whole life, I was kind of on a hiatus from pinball.  Was more into consoles/fighters at the time.  But I was getting the itch to play pins again.

Diving down the wormhole of procrastination at some computer lab on campus, I found some geocities website describing this beautiful, fun looking game that was coming soon, Cirqus Voltaire.  WOW!  This is what they’re doing with pinball now!

The next day, I’m walking through the student union after lunch, and I see Bob Barnett’s truck outside (the game vendor), so I peek in the arcade…. And lo and behold, there’s a brand new Cirqus Voltaire!

“Little Gene!  I gotta keep the new stuff in here so you guys don’t snipe my account!”  He laughs as he shakes my hand.  “You can have the first game.”  He hits the service credit button.

I was hooked again.

I go back to my dorm, and look up places to play pinball.  Find this xmission.com website cobbled together by John gantert, with a list of places to play pinball, by county.  Holy shit!  There’s a place right around the corner that has like 14 pinballs!

The next day, after my accounting class in van munching hall (which if you know umcp is all the way on the south side of the campus, so I’m already over that way lol).  Hit up Marathon deli (still my favorite spot down there) for lunch…. And then I roll north a little into Howies.

Howies was a place that served the worst food…. But man you could happily kill an afternoon in there.  All the Williams (now) classics…. AFM, Medieval, Addams, breakshot!  Some really rare vids (trog, rampart!!! Space invaders 2, assault, pigskin)…. the list went on.

Later that day, I get back to my dorm hall.  Ethernet lines had just been installed the year before in ellicott hall, and my hallmate had a 486 hooked into it that was so much faster than my newer pentium 2 at my parents house on dial up (intel inside!) that it blew my mind.  Any way… I get back on the FSPA site, and…. There’s a pinball league?  At this place called volleyball house in Columbia.  Hmmm… that’s kinda far.  Columbia Gateway Dr…. Where the fuck in Columbia is that?

Oh… season 2 starts tomorrow.  Hmmmm ok nothing going on.  Road trip!

I drive over like an hour before to check the place out.  It’s this steel building echo chamber that smells like astroturf and soft pretzels in a locker room…. with 7 pins in it.  Shadow, World Cup…. Oh look, a standup crazy taxi?

I pump 50 cents into baywatch, and start flipping.  I’m playing really well on a game I’ve never played before.  After a while I feel this guy looking at me in a “who tf is this guy blowing up baywatch” type stare (I put up 1.9 billion lol)

“Hi, I’m Bernie”

“Hi I’m Mike.  I’m here to check out this league you guys are having?”

“Oh cool!  Well we’re just about to get started, come over here”

I meet for the first time

Deb, Jonke, Serg, Schober, Kim (wow some of these guys work for AOL?  wtf?!), Lee Van Doren, Dave Stewart

Scott Sidley

And so here we are on our phones 27 years later talking about all the great places we can do this stuff

Anyway, Happy 30th  birthday FSPA.  Life would have been really boring without you.  Love to the people.  Love to the game.

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

On Saturday, May 31, 2025, 2:09 AM, Joe P. Said via FSPA <fspa at fspazone.org> wrote:

Amazing ❤️
On Fri, May 30, 2025 at 11:43 PM Joe Schober via FSPA <fspa at fspazone.org> wrote:

As May comes to a close, and Summer leagues are starting, I just wanted to take a moment to say...
🎂 HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY, FSPA! 🎂
The first official FSPA season played week #1 exactly 30 years ago today, on May 30, 1995.  (There was some FSPA play prior to that, but I guess it wasn't worthy of being considered an "official" season while the format was developed -- I dunno, that was before my time here!)  I'm guessing few people then would've bet that the FSPA would still be flipping 30 years later, never mind imagining the growth and popularity of leagues, tournaments, locations, manufacturers, and games that we all enjoy today.
Hope everyone has a great Summer season!
--Joe

From: Keith Johnson <keefer at sma.com>Subject: FSPA:  results:  05/30/95Date: Mon, 5 Jun 1995 23:37:31 -0400 (EDT)
OK, here we go, just in time for week 2.  ;)
Player and machine results are lifetime.  Overall standings, obviously,are for the current season, now 1 week long.
keith
----------------------------------

                  FSPA UPDATE -- STATS AS OF PLAY DATE 05/30/95                  *********************************************

                                     RESULTS                                     *******

Flintstones         Group Player  Score          Grp Scr Overall===========         ----- ------- -------------- ------- -------                      1   Keith      667,493,000  4       9                          Jay        416,405,000  2       6                          Chris      149,983,000  0       0                      2   Sergio     680,039,000  3       10                          Lee V      600,480,000  2       8                          Steve K    419,500,000  1       7                      3   Steve J  1,483,879,000  4       12                          Jessica    295,962,000  2       3                          Bernie     269,877,000  0       2                      4   George   1,149,295,000  4       11                          Adlai      386,371,000  2       5                          Brad       369,537,000  1       4                          Dave       230,979,000  1       1
Maverick            Group Player  Score          Grp Scr Overall========            ----- ------- -------------- ------- -------                      1   Keith      721,577,000  3       6                          Jay        562,920,000  2       2                          Chris      274,428,000  1       0                      2   Steve K    980,811,000  3       10                          Sergio     972,828,000  2       9                          Lee V      654,764,000  1       4                      3   Steve J  1,490,516,000  4       12                          Bernie     891,882,000  2       8                          Jessica    453,561,000  0       1                      4   Adlai    1,441,623,000  3       11                          George     822,101,000  2       7                          Dave       674,098,000  2       5                          Brad       567,940,000  1       3
Stargate            Group Player  Score          Grp Scr Overall========            ----- ------- -------------- ------- -------                      1   Keith    3,337,410,000  4       12                          Chris      232,038,000  2       4                          Jay        201,956,000  0       2                      2   Sergio     495,843,000  4       9                          Lee V      182,254,000  2       1                          Steve K    114,730,000  0       0                      3   Steve J    907,947,000  4       11                          Jessica    456,246,000  2       8                          Bernie     349,851,000  0       7                      4   George     734,381,000  4       10                          Dave       344,767,000  2       6                          Brad       302,764,000  1       5                          Adlai      217,888,000  1       3
STTNG               Group Player  Score          Grp Scr Overall=====               ----- ------- -------------- ------- -------                      1   Keith    3,018,237,000  4       12                          Chris      398,211,000  2       7                          Jay        373,985,000  0       6                      2   Sergio     517,906,000  4       9                          Steve K    263,824,000  2       3                          Lee V      185,304,000  0       0                      3   Jessica    354,386,000  3       5                          Bernie     209,429,000  2       2                          Steve J    199,117,000  1       1                      4   George   1,050,587,000  3       11                          Dave       755,139,000  2       10                          Adlai      512,348,000  2       8                          Brad       310,893,000  1       4

Player  Group Overall Normal ------- ----- ------- -------Keith     15     39   0.81250George    13     39   0.81250Sergio    13     37   0.77083Steve J   13     36   0.75000Adlai      8     27   0.56250Dave       7     22   0.45833Jessica    7     17   0.35417Steve K    6     20   0.41667Lee V      5     13   0.27083Chris      5     11   0.22917Bernie     4     19   0.39583Jay        4     16   0.33333Brad       4     16   0.33333
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-- 
Wei-Hwa Huang, onigame at gmail.com
-----------------------------------------------------------
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