Hi i was wondering if anyone here on the Info site was aware that Mike Kloss also known as The Duke of Pinball passed away back in November 2019.
I had not been in touch in recent times and was trawling through the internet and thought i`d look up his website as i used to do from time time and found an article which needed translating regarding the passing of Mike. I was shocked as it wasn`t what i expected to see. I felt really bad having drifted out of touch over the years. Last time i spoke to Mike he seemed so much happier having resolved a massive issue regarding access to his daughter after a difficult relationship with her mother. Really thought i`d see him back in East Kilbride one day sharing a few games of pinball and Grolsch.........not to mention the toffee vodka !
He was one hell of a character who was totally and utterly passionate about all things pinball. Whether it was restoration or buying and selling parts or playing he put his heart and soul into everything.
Mike accompanied me to Pinball Heaven way back in 2004 (ish) when i had the pleasure of buying my first ever brand new pinball machine (Elvis) , i have attached a few photos of when we arrived back home and set up the machine.
We were literally two games in when the upper flipper stuck in the up position and i started swearing and cursing my bad luck when Mike lifted up the playfield had a quick look and asked me for a hammer ! i was more than a little nervous when handing one over but he simply gave the upper flipper shaft a quick tap and i was somewhat surprised to see it working perfectly after that !
Mike was incredibly competitive when playing pinball and i rarely got the better of him but a couple of funny incidents stick in my mind when he didn`t quite beat my high score. One time Mike was closing in on my hard earned grand champion score on Lord of the Rings and i had resigned myself to losing top place when my brother in law who had just arrived came up behind Mike and dug his two hands into the side of Mike giving him a hell of a fright and of course the ball drained away !
The other time i got lucky was whilst playing a two player on one of our favourite machines The Champion Pub. Mike had set a new GC just before we were due to leave for Glasgow Airport and i was on my last ball. If you have ever played The CP you will know there is a gambling option that builds up the further you go in the game. Well i gambled everything and for once it worked out leaving Mike with no time time or else he would have missed his flight. You know what i am surprised he didn`t stay and have another go, i am sure it crossed his mind !
I should also mention that having bought several machines from Mike he would not only describe them in the greatest detail but his packaging was second to none. Mind you he could be pretty resourceful when shipping a machine. During one particular visit we were getting an NBA Fastbreak ready for sending back to Denmark when he asked my wife Sandra to go to the supermarket and buy as many cans of coca cola that we could squeeze on to the pallet with the NBA. We were well over 100 cans by the time we were finished. Apparently our coke tasted better than what was being sold in Denmark !
Anyway if anyone has their own personal memories or photos to share of Mike it would be nice to hear and see them,
Thanks,
John .
I had not been in touch in recent times and was trawling through the internet and thought i`d look up his website as i used to do from time time and found an article which needed translating regarding the passing of Mike. I was shocked as it wasn`t what i expected to see. I felt really bad having drifted out of touch over the years. Last time i spoke to Mike he seemed so much happier having resolved a massive issue regarding access to his daughter after a difficult relationship with her mother. Really thought i`d see him back in East Kilbride one day sharing a few games of pinball and Grolsch.........not to mention the toffee vodka !
He was one hell of a character who was totally and utterly passionate about all things pinball. Whether it was restoration or buying and selling parts or playing he put his heart and soul into everything.
Mike accompanied me to Pinball Heaven way back in 2004 (ish) when i had the pleasure of buying my first ever brand new pinball machine (Elvis) , i have attached a few photos of when we arrived back home and set up the machine.
We were literally two games in when the upper flipper stuck in the up position and i started swearing and cursing my bad luck when Mike lifted up the playfield had a quick look and asked me for a hammer ! i was more than a little nervous when handing one over but he simply gave the upper flipper shaft a quick tap and i was somewhat surprised to see it working perfectly after that !
Mike was incredibly competitive when playing pinball and i rarely got the better of him but a couple of funny incidents stick in my mind when he didn`t quite beat my high score. One time Mike was closing in on my hard earned grand champion score on Lord of the Rings and i had resigned myself to losing top place when my brother in law who had just arrived came up behind Mike and dug his two hands into the side of Mike giving him a hell of a fright and of course the ball drained away !
The other time i got lucky was whilst playing a two player on one of our favourite machines The Champion Pub. Mike had set a new GC just before we were due to leave for Glasgow Airport and i was on my last ball. If you have ever played The CP you will know there is a gambling option that builds up the further you go in the game. Well i gambled everything and for once it worked out leaving Mike with no time time or else he would have missed his flight. You know what i am surprised he didn`t stay and have another go, i am sure it crossed his mind !
I should also mention that having bought several machines from Mike he would not only describe them in the greatest detail but his packaging was second to none. Mind you he could be pretty resourceful when shipping a machine. During one particular visit we were getting an NBA Fastbreak ready for sending back to Denmark when he asked my wife Sandra to go to the supermarket and buy as many cans of coca cola that we could squeeze on to the pallet with the NBA. We were well over 100 cans by the time we were finished. Apparently our coke tasted better than what was being sold in Denmark !
Anyway if anyone has their own personal memories or photos to share of Mike it would be nice to hear and see them,
Thanks,
John .
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