What's The History Of Cornhole?

Cornhole is one of the most popular outdoor sports in the US. You can expect to see it at a variety of outdoor summer events, such as family barbecues or just when you have some friends over for the weekend. But in order to get more enjoyment out of it, it can help to know a little about its history. Where did this strange game come from - and who first thought of that name for it? Let’s take a closer look at the history of cornhole, as well as a little of its etymology.

The Origin Of Cornhole

Cornhole is now known across the Midwest as a game in which players throw bags onto the opponent's boards in order to score points, and even today it can vary a lot in terms of how it is played. But where did it come from?

One explanation - and the one that seems to be the most feasible - is that the game comes from a combination of different professions, each of which has something to do with the making of a cornhole set.

After the industrial revolution, you would have had many different occupations suddenly working in close quarters to one another. Some of the most common jobs here were: tanners and leather workers, millers who dealt with corn and grain, coachbuilders, brewers, weavers, tailors, and sewers. As it happens, each of these can be found in a cornhole set even today, if you look at it in the right way.

How? Well, at this time, the game of cornhole began by throwing objects made out of leather and cloth into milk crates. Of course, while playing, everyone would have been drinking copious amounts of beer. As you can see, this would have been a way for all of these people to come together and play a primitive version of this still-popular game.

The Name

All well and good, but where does the name cornhole actually come from, and when was it named such? As with many other sports and games, after it became more popular, an increasing number of varied people started making claims as to its origins, and a lot of different groups have claimed ownership of its invention.

One of the most common legends is that a fourteenth-century cabinet-maker by the name of Kuepermann invented the game, using a bag of corn to throw in the holes rather than the stones that he had seen children playing in similar games in the street. Kuppermann determined that corn was a much safer item to throw, so that is what he chose - and thus the name Cornhole was born.

Its Popularity

The game of cornhole is still popular, and all across the US. If you go to any outdoor event this year, you are bound to see some version of it being played, perhaps with different rules, but essentially all the same game. Of course, these days, you might not be using corn to play it at all.

source: Cornholeworldwide.com