Baker Ball Shooting Gallery
About This Machine
The Baker Ball Shooting Gallery is a rare and enigmatic electro-mechanical gun game, not a pinball machine, that offers a glimpse into the early days of the coin-op amusement industry. Produced by Baker Amusement Machine Co. of Weatherford, Texas, this machine's exact year of manufacture is unknown; the earliest documentation found is a 1946 classified ad selling reconditioned units.
The Baker Ball Shooting Gallery is a pistol game: players load and fire balls at a hunting-themed target. A line-power-controlled motor rotates ducks into view on the back wall to simulate flight, creating an immersive hunting experience. The playfield's hand-painted woodland scene with a pond adds to the theme's charm, while the compact cabinet, measuring 34 inches long, 10 inches wide, and 14 1/2 inches high at its tallest point, showcases the ingenuity of early coin-op design.
The machine's marquee is a notable feature, a solid wood piece with a metal plate displaying the manufacturer's information, including patentee L. G. Baker's name. Little additional information about this game has surfaced, leaving enthusiasts to appreciate its rarity and uniqueness as an early example of a gun-game shooting gallery.
Images (3)
Technical Details
- Theme:
- Sports - Hunting
- Notable Features:
- Pistol game. Line power controlled by on/off switch on side of cabinet lights the game and turns motor to rotate the ducks into view to simulate flight on back wall of playfield. The playfield drains the shot balls back to the pistol and is a hand-painted woodland scene with pond. Cabinet measured 34 inches long, 10 inches wide, and 14 1/2 inches high at tallest point. The marquee at back of cabinet is a solid wood piece with a metal plate mounted on it showing the following information: BAKER BALL SHOOTING GALLERY Property of BAKER AMUSEMENT MACHINE CO. Weatherford, Texas L. G. Baker, Patentee