A Pinball Expo Hall of Famer himself, Gary Stern recently inducted Shazade (Chas) Siddiqi and Tommy Grant into the Hall of Fame at this year’s Pinball Expo, held virtually Oct. 14-17.
Chas, who passed away in August, started at Data East Pinball (the predecessor to Stern Pinball) on the factory assembly line in 1992, working his way up to a position as a final tester. “Through his hard work and attention to technical detail, Chas’s talent was recognized,” the company wrote. “He was transferred and promoted into the Technical Service department where his patience with customers truly shined.”
Gary Stern added: “Chas was the definition of a true team player; an unsung hero in this industry. It’s bittersweet to be able to induct him personally into the Hall of Fame, forever enshrined in the history of pinball.”
Tommy Grant, whose father formed Advertising Posters in 1932, later led that company (also called Ad Posters), which created much of the game art on all types of machines – “flipper games” early in the history of pinball. He’d eventually start Technical Advertising Graphics, screening backglasses, playfields and plastics on many pinballs for decades – including Stern’s.
“In 1947 when my father Sam became a partner in the Williams pinball company, he worked and collaborated with Tommy’s father,” Stern recalled. “It was fun for Tommy and I, like our fathers, to work to make great games together, in our youth and many years thereafter.”
