Lifestyle

Fischer Bowling Hall Has Been Home to 9-Pin Fun in the Texas Hill Country for Over a Century

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Nine-pin bowling is a highlight of the Texas Hill Country, and in the wonderful town of Fischer, it’s been around since the 1800s. Knowing the rules helps you out considerably (since it’s not the typical game you would traditionally play). The object is to either knock all the pins down or knock them all down while leaving the red pin standing.

The Fischer Bowling League is described in this video by The Texas Bucket List as a group of tightly-knit Texans that meet four times a week for 49 weeks out of the year. They gather at the original town bowling hall which was established in 1897. Described as a game that was brought to Texas by its German settlers, this 9-pin bowling can only be found in the Texas Hill Country and nowhere else in the U.S.

Described by one of the regulars as being a place that he “…wished there were more of,” the Fischer bowling hall has no scoring computers, but merely a chalkboard where the players keep track of their scores. The pinsetter is an actual person, as opposed to a mechanical process. Featuring team names such as “Beer Drinkin’ and Bad Bowlin’,” you can bet there’s a little more to do at the Fischer Bowling Hall than first meets the eye, but the locals contend that their hall is still a considerable secret even to other nearby Texas Hill Country residents! If you’re looking for a good game of nine-pin and you want to experience some true down-home fun, visit Fischer, in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. That is, if you can “spare” some time (now c’mon…that’s just plain funny).