Action Park's Tennis-Ball Battle Tank Heads to Auction

A piece of American amusement-park history is up for grabs: one of the ten motorized Battle Action Tanks built for New Jersey’s infamous Action Park in 1981, now fully restored and offered without reserve. The tank fires tennis balls from an air-powered cannon operated from its single cockpit seat — and yes, it actually works.

The concept was straightforward mayhem. Ten mini-tanks circled inside a fenced enclosure, each carrying targets on its hull. Land a tennis-ball hit on an opponent’s target and that tank was frozen for 15 seconds. Spectators outside the fence got their own stationary cannons and could join the barrage. The attraction lived inside Motorworld, the motorized-ride section of the park.

From Sketch to Steel

The vehicles are said to have been designed by park employee Mike Kraemer and built by colleague Bob Garby. This particular example is reportedly the sixth of the ten constructed.

Restoration began in 2022 under Robert Gleason of Butler, New Jersey. The chassis and fiberglass body were stripped and repainted, the sliding steel-mesh protective cage was refurbished, hydraulic lines and bumper mounts were replaced, and new steel tubs plus plastic side panels were fabricated to mimic tank tracks.

The selling dealer picked it up in May and went further: a new 277cc Kohler Command Pro CH395 four-stroke engine good for 9.5 bhp, fresh wiring, a new fuel tank, battery and Turf Rider tires. It’s being sold out of Seekonk, Massachusetts, through Bring a Trailer.

The Park Behind the Tank

Action Park operated in Vernon Township from 1978 to 1996, and its reputation was earned. Owner Eugene “Gene” Mulvihill, a securities broker who controlled the nearby Vernon Valley/Great Gorge ski area, filed insurance certificates from a sham Cayman Islands company because no legitimate insurer would touch the place — he later pleaded guilty to six counts tied to London & World Assurance and was fined $45,000.

• 1976: Mulvihill opens the 2,700-foot Alpine Slide, a concrete-and-fiberglass chute with a single brake lever
• 1981: The Tidal Wave Pool debuts, with lifeguards logging up to 30 rescues a day
• 1983: The Cannonball Loop, an enclosed tube slide with a vertical loop, is built; staff were offered $100 to test it
• 1985: State ride-safety advisers shut the Cannonball Loop down over injuries

The Motorworld side had its own lore. Super Go-Karts governed to 20 mph reportedly hit 50+ mph after staff jammed tennis balls into the governors, and licensed drivers 17 and up could pay extra to run a Lola T506-series mini race car — a 28 bhp Sachs rotary-powered single-seater of which Lola built 41 T506s and 80 T506Bs between 1977 and 1984.

Tank Specs: 1981 Battle Action Tank · 277cc Kohler Command Pro CH395 four-stroke · 9.5 bhp · air-powered tennis-ball cannon · no reserve

Five deaths were recorded at the park and a sixth was directly attributed to it. Great American Recreation, Mulvihill’s company, went bankrupt in 1996 owing $48 million; the site’s water park section was relaunched as Mountain Creek in 1998. Mulvihill died in 2012, and his son Andy brought the Action Park name back for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Hollywood came calling too. The 2018 film Action Point with Johnny Knoxville and Chris Pontius drew directly on the park’s dangerous rides, and the documentary Class Action Park from Seth Porges and Chris Charles Scott III landed on HBO Max in August 2020.

As for the tank itself — it’s a strange, wonderful survivor of a place that probably should never have existed. Bidding is open now.