Irving Kaye Timeline

The Irving Kaye timeline project was assembled from a variety of sources that reported on the coin-op business mostly Billboard magazine. These are clips, ads, and promotions that give us a brief glimpse of the history of Irving Kaye projects and products.

1945

Amusement Enterprises Inc.
- Irving Kaye, President
- Location – 2 Columbus Circle New York, NY
- Phone – CIrcle6-6651
- Manufactured coin-op games
Products Include:
- Bank Ball – “Skee-Ball” style game
  - Available in 9′, 12′, 14′ sizes.
  - 9′ Retails at $375.
  - Bank Ball declared legal in New York City on July 27, 1945
  - Over 1000 “Bank Ball” machines on location with 700 additional in production.

1946

Amusement Enterprises Inc.
Products Include:
- Tri Score – Five-ball roll-down game (pinball no flippers.)
- Bowl-A-Strike – 24′ bowling alley game
- Whirl-A-Ball – Countertop Top Skill game
- One World – Pokerino style roll-down game
Distributor – Hercules Sales and Distributing Newark NJ.

1953

Kaye Manufacturing Co.
- Location – 597 10th Ave New York, NY
- Manufactured coin-op kiddie rides.
Products Include:
- Sea Queen – All steel construction boat ride.
- Rocket – All steel construction space-craft ride.
- Midgets – Dog, Duck, Racing Car and Horse rides with Steel bases with Fiberglass bodies.

1954

Activeaire Devices Inc.
- Irving Kaye, President
- Manufactured hand dryers and industrial vacuums.
Products Include:
- Activeaire – washroom hand dryer.

1955

Irving Kaye Co., Inc.
Location – 105 East 16th Street New York, NY

1956

Location – 11 East 17th Street New York, NY
Products Include:
- Pool Balls – Phonolic Resin Balls for other table brands.
- Custom Slate – manufactures slate for other table brands.
- Super Deluxe Bumper Pool
  - Available in Mahogany, Blond Mahogany and Walnut
  - Jumbo 300 lbs retailed at $349.
  - Regular 250 lbs retailed at $299.
Distributors
- Cleveland Coin – Cleveland, OH
- Irving Morris – Newark NJ
- Mayflower Distributors – St Paul, MN
- Border Sunshine – Albuquerque, NM
- First Coin Machine Exchange – Chicago, IL
- Sam Taran – Miami, FL
- Southern Automatic – Louisville, KY
- World-Wide Distributors – Chicago, IL
- Tremont Distributing – Boston, MA
- Runyon Sales – New York, NY
- Seacoast Distributors – Elizabeth, NJ
- Badger Sales – Los Angeles, CA
- Pastor Distributing – Milwaukee, WI

1957

Location – 1457 Bergen Street
Production – 80-100 Units Weekly
Products Include:
- Pool Conversion – Bumper pool to mini pool conversion kit.
  - Retailed at $149.
  - Irving Kaye drills its own slate.
- Eldorado – 6-Hole Coin-op pool table
  - List price $495
  - 76″ x 44″ x 32″
  - Features
    - Coin mechanism and visible ball rack at the end of the table
    - Pennsylvania cured slate top
    - Phenolic Resin Balls
    - Recessed Scoring markers
    - Mahogany and gold trim
    - Genuine pearl markers
- Deluxe Competitor – 6-Hole Coin-Op Pool Table
  - 6-Pocket at $350 (4-Pocket at $299)
  - 72″ x 42″
  - Features
    - Formica Top Rail
    - Recessed Scoring Panel
- Staff
  - Jack Firestone – Head of Design
  - Charlie Katz – Sales Manager
- Irving Kaye purchases a game route from Bob Luttman

1958

Location – 1537 Bergen Street Brooklyn NY
Products Include:
- Jumbo Hockey – Coin-op hockey game for 2 players.
  - Illuminated Formica playfield.
  - Dime play.
  - 6′ retails at $349.
  - 8′ retails at $399.
- Melody Tower – Music Wall Box w/ Jensen hifi-speaker
  - 60″ x 26″ x 18″
  - Retails at $99.
- Deuces Wild – 2 player roll-down poker table.
  - 28″ x 36″
  - Nickle play.
- Activeaire Street Cleaner
  - Industrial vacuum with canvas catcher.
Staff – Buddy Knox General Sales Manager
Distributor –
- Roanoke Vending Machine Exchange Richmond, VA
- Miller-Newmark – Detroit, MI
- Active Amusement Machines Co – Philadelphia, PA
- Lavoie & Hillman Inc – Fall River, MA
- Mayflower Distributing Co. – St Paul, MN
- Lake City Amusement, Inc – Cleveland, OH
- Empire Coin Machine Exchange – Chicago, IL
- King Pin Equipment Co. – Kalamazoo, MI

1959

Products Include:
- Cue Ball – Coin-op novelty pool game.
  - Slate Top
  - 75″ x 42″
  - Extra Top to convertable to Bumper Pool $79.95
  - Fluorescent Light reflector
  - Formica Top Rails
  - Used 2.125″ 5.25 oz resin ball
- Deluxe Leader – 6-Pocket Coin-op Pool Table
  - 75″ x 42″
  - Jumbo 92″ x 52″
- Fleetwood – 6-Pocket Coin-op Pool Table
  - Double-Ball Viewer (allows segregation for visual scoring)
  - 75″ x 42″
  - Jumbo 90″ x 52″

1960

Location – 363 Prospect Place Brooklyn, NY
Phone – PResident4-8300
Products Include:
- Eldorado – 6-Pocket Coin-op Pool Table
  - Mahogany
  - 82″ x 46″
  - Formica Top Rail
  - Single Ball Viewer on Side
- Klub Pool – Coin-op bumper pool table
  - 48″ x 32″

1961

Products Include:
- Deluxe Eldorado – Coin-op pool table
  - Eldorado Deluxe Mark I
    - 77″ x 45″
    - Recessed Coin Chute
    - Formica Top Rails
    - Full Viewer permits balls to be seen from any angle.
    - Ball tray integrated into removable drawer.
    - Corner Pockets 16 gauge steel — brass and chrome plated.
  - Eldorado Deluxe Mark II
    - 82″ x 46″
    - Retails at $310.
  - Eldorado Deluxe Mark III
    - 92″ x 52″
  - Eldorado Deluxe Mark IV
    - 105″ x 57″ (also listed as 106″ x 58″)
- Satellite Bumper Pool – Coin-op bumper pool table
- Klub Pool – Coin-op bumper pool table
  - 56″ x 40″
Non-coin Home versions in three sizes introduced.
Phone – STerling3-1200
Distributor – Runyon Sales Company Newark, NJ
Staff:
- Buddy Fox resigns.
- Howard M. Kaye (son) named General sales manager.

1962

Products Include:
- Satellite – Coin-op pool table
  - Economy version of the Eldorado retails at $275.
  - 77″ x 45″
  - Blue color scheme w/ white formica corners
  - Platinum Walnut formica
- Deluxe Eldorado Mark V – Coin-op pool table
  - Plastic Top (never went into production.)
  - 113″ x 63″
Location – 363 Prospect Place Brooklyn, NY

1963

Products Include:
- Deluxe Eldorado Mark V – Coin-op pool table
  - 113″ x 63″
  - 3pc. Slate
  - Walnut, Teak, Madagascar Ebony, Mahogany, Pastel
  - Complete Formica finish or Stained Wood
- Jumbo Klub Pool
  - 75″ x 43″
  - Teak Beige, Blue/White
- Deluxe Continental – NEW! Coin-op professional table for Billiards parlors.
  - 108″ x 54″
  - 3 pc. 1.125″ slate
  - Optional Finished
  - Colored cloth tops available in Pastel Shades
- Ambassador – NEW! non-coin Home table
  - 108″ x 54″
  - 3 pc. 1.125″ slate
  - Optional Finished
  - Colored cloth tops available in Pastel Shades
Deluxe Eldorado for ’63 redesigned with Formica top frame, recessed Scoring markers and smooth corners.
Resumed production on Satellite six-pocket due to demand.
Bill O’Donnell, Barney Sugerman (Shugy), Sam Klein and Irving Kaye purchase Bally Manufacturing Company
Runion Sales installs thirty-six (36) Irving Kaye Eldorado Deluxe Mark III pool tables are installed in the Ritz Carlton in Altantic City, NJ.
Distributor
- Shaffer Music Company Columbus, OH
- World Wide Distributors Chicago, IL
Staff:
- Art Daddis named Sales Manager at Irving Kaye and Co., Inc.
- Arnold Kaye returns to duty as Production Manager at Irving Kaye and Co., Inc.

1964

Products include:
- Scopitone NEW! – Video Jukebox
  - Scopitone Inc. U.S.A. backers include Barnett Sugarman, Abe Green, Irving Kaye and attorney Alvin I. Malnick
  - William Morris Agency to provide Artists for Scopiton film sequences.
- DeLuxe Klub Pool – NEW! Coin-op Bumper Pool table
  - Regular 56″ x 40″
  - Jumbo 75″ x 43″
  - Blue/White, Red/White Formica finishes
Staff:
- Clayton Nemeroff joined the sales force.
- Edward Ratajack named Kaye Sales Manager

1965

Products Include:
- Ambassador – non-coin Home table
  - 3/4″ slate top.
  - 90 – 108″ x 54″ 1050 lbs.
  - 80 – 96″ x 48″ 900 lbs.
  - 75 – 84″ x 42″ 600 lbs.
  - 70 – 72″ x 36″ 500 lbs.
Deluxe Eldorado 66 – NEW! Coin-op pool table introduced.
Ringo Pool – NEW! Coin-op Elliptical pool table
- 56″ diameter
- Blue/White, Red/White Formica finishes
- $225
Batting Practice – Pitch-n-Bat Arcade Game introduced.
Staff: Mort Secore named National Sales Director

1966

Products Include:
- DeLuxe El Dorado 66 – Coin-op pool table
  - Patent-pending Jam-proof Mechanism
  - All Formica Cabinet
  - Swing-away Legs
  - 75″ x 45″
  - 85″ x 47″
  - 92″ x 52″
  - 106″ x 58″
  - 114″ x 64″

1967

Products include:
- Drinker Tinker – steady-hand genre counter game
- Touch Down – counter game
- Six new billiard tables “companion” to the El Dorado series
- Two new Bumper Tables
- Warp Proof Aluminum Ball Rack
- Fiberglass Cue Line
Added New Parts division

1968

Products include:
- Ringo-Pool a round novelty bumper-pool table.

1969

Products Include:
- Apollo – NEW! Coin-op pool table
  - Aluminum Legs
  - 86″, 92″, 102″, 105″
  - Black/Gold, Red/White
  - “We inspired NASA to use the Apollo name, not the other way around.”-Howard Kaye

1970

Location: 48 Union Street Stamford CT 06906
Phone: 203-348-1800
Products Include:
- Silver Shadow
- Convertible Top Pool tables for home use
  - La Provencal
  - El Conquistador
- Pocket Billiard Tables
  - El Matador
  - Le Monte Carlo
- Klub Pool Bumper Pool tables for home use
  - Astro
  - Aztec
- Foosball Tables
  - Hurricane
  - Super Soccer

1976

December 5, 1976 Palm Beach, FL – Irving Kaye born May 31, 1903 and founder of Irving Kaye Co. Inc. passes away at age 73 survived by his wife Mary and two sons Howard and Arnold Kaye.

1979

Arnold Kaye applies for 4 patents for Irving Kaye Company, Inc.

1980

Irving Kaye Co. Inc. sends foosball tables to Lake Placid for the Olympic Athletes to use during the Winter Olympics.
Howard and Arnold Kaye appear on the cover of RePlay Magazine celebrating the Silver Anniversary of Irving Kaye Company, Inc.

1981

Stamford Connecticut plant is closed.