Soon after Joel Godfrey started playing pinball as a 16-year-old in St. Louis, he adopted the Who's "Pinball Wizard" as his theme song.

Now more than 30 years later, the 1980 U.S. Open runner-up lives in Frisco with three machines that get regular use.

"I play daily," Godfrey said during a recent interview at his house. "It brings back great memories of childhood, and it's something you get better at the more you play."

The father of two and owner of Colorado businesses Aces and Eights Casino Shuttle and Alpenglow Adventures is trying to get a local pinball club up and running.

Godfrey has named his brainchild, "The Summit County Order of Pinball Enthusiasts" (SCOPE). He said about 10 local pinball machine owners have contacted him regarding the possibility of joining a group that would periodically convene at private homes and at public venues like Downstairs at Eric's to compete.

"Some people have poker night, and we want to have pinball night," Godfrey said. "Everyone would kick in $10 for beer and snacks and spend the evening trying to out-muscle everyone else on the machines."

What do muscles have to do with pinball?

"A real player gets a firm grasp on the machine because he wants to change the course of the ball," Godfrey explained. "And that's legal - (the machine) will tell you when it's illegal by tilting and shutting itself off, which is a guard against people wining with brute strength. You don't win with brute strength - it takes timing, experience, planning shots and knowing where to aim to get high points."

Who knows? If it weren't for pinball, the longtime enthusiast could still be living in upstate New York instead of colorful Colorado. That's where the U.S. Open comes in.

"I was living in Schenectady, N.Y., desperate to the leave the East Coast and running out of money," the Missouri native recalled. "I went to the Open in Hartford, Conn., and managed to take second place. I won $1,000 and it saved my butt because it gave me enough money to get me to Colorado."

Godfrey's career year of 1980 also included him winning a Bally Paragon during a June competition at Old Chicago in Boulder.

"Old Chicago was convinced that pinball was going out of style and video games would rule the world of entertainment," he explained. "They put every machine up for grabs - the highest score of the month was the winner. I was there one day, played two games on Paragon and got a high score. It stayed up and I have the machine down in my basement right now."

Paragon is especially suited for winter playing, since Godfrey's older machines - a '72 Gottlieb Flying Carpet and a '72 Gottlieb Outer Space reside in his garage.

Godfrey's two sons, Curran, 12 and Wyatt, 10, both enjoy playing pinball at home, but if they ever get bored there, they can always head to Silverthorne and play one of the two machines at their grandmother and aunt's house.

Godfrey estimates there are about 50 pinball machine owners in the county, and he would love to bring at least some of them together.

Why now?

"I've got my machines in good-working order, and I think the time is right for America to step back a little from video games," he explained. "Hey, I have no problem with people who want to do a video game club or a foosball club. My goal is to find all the pinball wizards in Summit County and have some fun with them."

Godfrey can be reached at (970) 468-7777.