RIP Kane MacAniff

post courtesy of Greg Dunlap

Kane Macaniff, a beloved member of the Portland pinball community, died of a heart attack recently at the age of 40. Kane started playing pinball in 2010 at the Los Angeles Pinball League before moving to Portland in 2011, where he quickly became a fixture at local events. In that time he played over 600 IFPA certified events, and qualified for the Oregon State Championships four times. Kane was also the founder of Scoreboard With The Cool S, a team that played regularly in the Portland Pinball Team League at Scoreboard Sports Bar.

Kane was hard to miss. He was friendly and gregarious and had a huge personality. No matter what type of event, Kane was always sure to be there. Sanctioned or not, at a bar or a house party. Kane loved playing pinball and hanging out with pinball people. In a remembrance thread on Facebook, several local players expressed that meeting Kane was one of their first and fondest memories of the local pinball scene. One player remembered how friendly Kane was after they got paired up for split flipper at one of her first tournaments. Kane taught her how to aim and what to shoot for, making her laugh and helping to calm her nerves. His league teammates shared stories of epic comebacks to win as well as the after-parties that went long into the night. Kane did not organize many events, but when he did they were not to be forgotten. Most notable was the Taylor Swift themed tournament he ran with Zoe Vrabel in 2013, featuring only machines that had some connection to Taylor, as well as themed prizes.

Personally, I will always remember the time he dressed up as the backglass to Frontier for a Halloween party in 2013. Not only did he nail the costume perfectly, but it also fit his personality to a T. Gruff, scraggly, and larger than life. Kane will be dearly missed.