Dallas' 1980s Video-arcade Legend Rises to the Defense of His Dear Friend, the Fallen King of Donkey Kong

A few days ago I received a message from a man with whom I had not spoken in many years: Ben Gold, renowned 35 years ago as one of the world's best and most famous video-gamers. As in, he once held the world's top score on Stargate -- set the day he turned 16 in 1983. Then Millipede. Then Q*bert. Some things are important. And some things are just impressive.For his accomplishments, Gold appeared on ABC's That's Incredible, where he was rewarded with a kiss on the cheek from Cathy Lee Crosby. He appeared in Dynamite magazine, once a must-read delivered to elementary-school desks. And he found himself in the pages of Life, surrounded in a famous photo spread by other pale joystick jockeys, among them a boy from Florida with a wispy mustache and feathered hair named Billy Mitchell.Thirty-five years later Billy and Ben are still friends. And Mitchell is still playing video games. And he is still making news.  Continue reading...