Did somebody here beat my wife in pinball (NBA FB) in the mid 90s on Chicago radio?

blkdog7

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Did somebody here beat my wife in pinball (NBA FB) in the mid 90s on Chicago radio?

I have been thinking a lot about this lately. Not sure why...

In the mid 90s, there was a radio show called "Wendy and Bill" on Q101 in Chicago. They had a contest to give away a NBA Fastbreak Pinball. They were having a high-score contest and were randomly choosing people to compete. The winner would get the machine. I think they chose three people.

Anyways, my wife (or live in lover? Not sure if we were married yet) got chosen to compete. We were given a date and she had a few days to prepare. I was beyond excited!! WOOT!! An opportunity to win our own pinball machine!! Especially BACK THEN. Wow!

So.. I made her train. I was by no means a pinball playing expert, but I was determined to make her one. We went to Dave and Busters in Addison, IL and I made her play NBA Fastbreak for hours. I said "keep playing". She played and played and played and played. She was getting pretty good. She was getting ready. She was going to win this. She was pretty damn good at Fastbreak!!

Well, the day came and the contest took place on the air. My wife was kicking ass. It looked like she was going to win! But then the next opponent started playing. He had a stance. He would hunch over the pinball machine and get his head close to the glass. He was "one with the machine". He was a PRO!! He played well, and in the end he beat my wife.

After the contest, this opponent revealed his secret. It turns out this guy was a pinhead. He had twenty pinball machines already! If I remember right, he lived in Algonquin, IL. We felt cheated. We felt robbed. My wife was a mere mortal. This pinhead robbed us of our dreams! I was crushed. To this day I weep about that contest. "If only she had won" pops into my head every now and then. I often think about that day.

Now, flash forward 15 years. Here I am amongst all of these collectors. I have been wondering if this pinhead that beat my wife is one of YOU. Is it? Do you know this guy? Anyone? If so, can we please have the NBA FASTBREAK back? :)
 
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Um yeah, that's the real reason I never made it to the cookout. Just kidding, that is a great story though.
 
new to this group so i will begin by saying hello.from the way you decribed the stance of the player alone it sounds like Lyman Sheats jr. he is one of the worlds highest ranking pinball players and coincidentally is from illinois. type his name into you tube and there are some videos of him on talk shows from around that same time frame.
Rob
 
There is only one guy I know of that is a pin head, lives in Algonquin and would have had that many pins during that time frame. I've never seen him play like that...but maybe. I'll ask him before I post his name though...
 
There is only one guy I know of that is a pin head, lives in Algonquin and would have had that many pins during that time frame. I've never seen him play like that...but maybe. I'll ask him before I post his name though...

Please ask him! I am dying to know. :)
 
So, I made the original post in this thread over two years ago. And, well, it only took 14 years, but my wife now has the NBA Fastbreak she should have won back then.... :) Pretty fun game actually. I like. Now to get two so I can link them together.... :p


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Asking KLOV "Who beat my wife" is a very dangerous question to ask. You are a brave, brave man.
 
new to this group so i will begin by saying hello.from the way you decribed the stance of the player alone it sounds like Lyman Sheats jr. he is one of the worlds highest ranking pinball players and coincidentally is from illinois. type his name into you tube and there are some videos of him on talk shows from around that same time frame.
Rob

Yeah, that sounds like Lyman. He did programming for Williams and he is so hunched over when playing. Definitely a pro. I bet he was the one.
 
He could have been a ringer, so the radio station didn't actually have to fork out that money for the game. Just a guess.

+1 for that. Then they just rent the machine and pay him to dominate the crappy competition. No offense but it seems that they tried to pick the worst competition looking at it on paper :)
 
John, look Lyman up online and see if he looks like the guy...? If you haven't already. You guys were there! :rolleyes:
 
John, look Lyman up online and see if he looks like the guy...? If you haven't already. You guys were there! :rolleyes:

My wife said he had feathery brown hair. Which, is what Lyman has. I am very familiar with who Lyman Sheats is. She doesn't remember but it seems possible that it was him when showing her photos of him (I wasn't there, I had to work!)

Crazy if it was him, right??!?

I don't think it was him, though. The guy revealed after he won that he was a collector with 20 pins or so. So, doesn't make sense to me. If it was a ringer Williams sent in, why admit he was a collector?
 
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