About Silverball Chronicles: A Pinball History Podcast
Welcome to Our New Feed!
Looking for a different pinball podcast which isn't about current events or pinball news? Silverball Chronicles is a monthly podcast for the true pinball nerd that enjoys learning more about the complicated dynamics, politics and characters that created their favourite pinball machines.
Join Ron and Dave as they stumble through pinball history mispronouncing names, chronicling designers, telling war stories, and digging up strange and obscure facts; all while paying homage to the hobby of pinball.
Zaccaria was a unique touchpoint in pinball in the 1970s and early 80s. They were built with an Italian flare for style, art and passion. They were more than a simple fly by night pinball firm and one which remains distinctively interesting to pinball collectors today.
Sources:
Podcast: Pacific Pinball Museum - Wayne Neyens and John Osborne Part 1 - Oct 2 2013
Wikipedia Zaccaria Pinball. Here
Pinball News. Natale Zaccaria Interview. Here
The Roger Sharpe Tapes – Unpublished
Lorenzo Pinside Thread. Here
23 Jun 2026
The Complicated Legacy of John Trudeau
Want to Support the Show? Visit Our Patreon at www.patreon.com/silverballchronicles or pick up a tee shirt at https://silverballswag.com/collections/silverball-chronicles
The pinball industry is like a mirror to society. Pinball is not immune to scandal or terrible people. Case in point, John Trudeau. One of pinballs most creative and wacky designers, but also the worst person in pinball. Can you separate the art from the artist or should you?
Join us this month as we review how John was introduced to pinball, his early career, working at the shoe string budget years of Gottlieb and then the boom in Williams. We also review why John is a considered a piece of garbage and how he destroyed the legacy of his games.
Sources:
Topcast Podcast
- Ep 10 – John Trudeau
- Ep 17 – Roger Sharpe
- Ep 37 – Joe Kaminkow
TNT Amusements Youtube
- Caribbean Cruise. Here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO4V4r3Szc8)
Pinball News. John Trudeau Charges. Here
24 Mar 2026
Game Plan: Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em
Want to Support the Show? Visit Our Patreon at www.patreon.com/silverballchronicles or pick up a tee shirt at https://silverballswag.com/collections/silverball-chronicles
The pinball industry does a lot to try to innovate and stimulate sales. Things like a mechanical bell, solid state boards, the wide body pinball machines, DMD screens and even stereo sound! But one of the strangest pinball machines out there was the Cocktail, a small almost round coffee table size working commercial pinball machine.
Join us this month as we chat about bad marketing ideas, Roger Sharpe's advice, John Trudeau's start in pinball, and the rise and fall... and rise and fall of Game Plan!
Sources:
Game Plan Pinball Fan Site. Here
Game Plan Wikipedia. Here
Topcast Podcast
- Ep 10 – John Trudeau
- Ep 17 – Roger Sharpe
- Ep 37 – Joe Kaminkow
Pinball News. John Trudeau Charges. Here
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
13,652,247
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.7 / 5
6 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 49 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
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