‘He was a giant.’ World-renowned Columbia pinball specialist dies
South Carolina has lost one of its pinball wizards.
Marc Mandeltort, who founded an internationally renowned pinball machine parts company, died Dec. 19 “peacefully in his sleep,” his family said. He was 68.
Mandeltort lived in Columbia. In 1985, he founded Marco Specialties, better known as Marco in the pinball playing world. The business was based in Lexington and was one of the largest distributors of pinball machine parts across the globe.
In a remembrance posted on Marco’s Facebook page, Marc’s wife, Nancy, and two grown children, Paul and Lynn, wrote that “for Marc, pinball wasn’t just a game designed to make money.”
“It is a beautiful miniature world under glass,” they wrote. “It is a tool that builds communities. It is a pastime and a lifestyle. For Marc, pinball machines were kinetic art that needed to be preserved for future generations to discover and enjoy.”
After the social media post, RePlayMag.com first reported on Mandeltort’s death.
Marco pinball specialized in supplying rare and common parts for new and vintage pinball machines. In founding the company, Mandeltort was regarded as a person who helped keep pinball alive in the United States and around the world.
PinballNews.com wrote that Mandeltort was one of the game’s “greatest supporters.” In the site’s article, pinball historian Gary Flower said that Mandeltort was a “hero” and “legend” in the pinball world.
He crafted obsolete parts, was a reliable supplier for owners of aging machines and sponsored pinball events.
“Most people that bought parts from Marc, directly or indirectly, will not know what a debt of gratitude they owe the quietly spoken President of Marco Specialties, nor understand his impact on the pinball landscape across the world,” Flower said.
Marco pinball supplied parts for 250,000 customers around the world, Pinball News reported. The company will continue to operate, it said.
In the Midlands, Marc was known as the man behind the pinball explosion who, for decades, quietly uplifted hobbyist and business owners.
“On a national and international level, Marc was a giant in (the pinball) community,” said Patrick Pietras, a founder of the Palmetto Pinball Club and former Marco employee.
In the Columbia area, “there are a lot of others who didn’t really know him and didn’t know the contributions he made behind the scenes, but they were huge.”
Bang Back in Five Points, Transmission on Main Street, Granby Grill in Olympia and Firefly Toys and Games in Irmo all sport pinball as one, if not the, main attraction. Other bars and restaurants, such as Rockaways on Rosewood and Art Bar in the Vista, save a corner for pinball machines.
Mandeltort helped Firefly expand into pinball, assistant manager Eric Grogan said. The gaming store now boasts 15 machines.
“Marc and Marco were an excellent resource for us,” he said. “He really wanted to see pinball be a big deal in Columbia.”
Pinball is a “huge deal” in the Columbia area now because of Marc, Grogan said.
The massive growth of pinball in Columbia in the last five years was because of Mandeltort’s love of the game.
“Without Marc none of that stuff happens,” Pietras said.
This story was originally published December 28, 2021 at 3:29 PM.