Arcade Games: Air Hockey

Air Hockey was invented in 1972 by four workers at Brunswick Billiards. In 1969 three engineers had been trying to develop a game with a frictionless table. The three men were Bob Kendrick, Phil Crossman and Brad Baldwin. They later moved on to other things until another worker named Bob Lemieux came across the idea and brought it back into development. They decided to use a sensor at each end of the table to keep track of goals. They also made the plastic puck and mallets to complete the game.
Air Hockey became an instant success. Only a year later and people had started having tournaments. In 1975 the United States Air Table Hockey Association (USAA) was created. The association was mainly a way to better organize the game and to use the same rules everywhere. Every year since championship tournaments have been held. The only tables approved for tournaments are 8 foot tables by Dynamo.