| Bogie Shooter |
11-22-2021 03:21 PM |
History of the game.
WHERE DID THE GAME CORN HOLE GET ITS NAME?
Where did the game corn hole get its name?
Hot days, iced tea, hamburger and hot dog smell filling the air, and all-out war with family members during grand cornhole matches. There is nothing more reminiscent than memories like these. Of course, there’s always some point in everyone's life where they wonder, why cornhole? As nostalgic and fun as cornhole boards are, the mystery of where its name came from still has no clear answer to this day. Yet, there have been many theories about where this game started, and there is a grand rabbit hole for anyone who wants to dig deeper.
HISTORY OF CORNHOLE BOARDS
FROM GERMANY
Some say that the game started more than 600 years ago somewhere in Germany. In a time when corn was in abundance and used more for weight than for food, it was the best solution for a simple problem. The game first started out with rocks, that's right not corn, but stones being thrown into a hole into the ground. As the story goes, a one “Matthias Kaupermann, a Bavarian cabinetmaker, was strolling through his village when he noticed some children playing a strange game: they were passing the time by taking turns throwing large stones into a hole in the ground”. So this carpenter, concerned with their safety, went home and made the first cornhole board. He replaced the children's rocks with sacks of corn so no one would get hurt. Then again, this is but one legend as to how cornhole got its name.
NATIVE AMERICANS
On to the next theory, some say that it was the native Americans that created the game and inspired the colonist to play. They were also credited with the start of soccer and lacrosse, so it’s no surprise adding one more to that list. Although, far from how we know cornhole, they used animal bladders filled with beans to throw into holes in the ground.
KENTUCKY
Now then, there is a close fight between Kentucky and Ohio for the claim on the bean bag toss game. A Kentucky farmer, Jebediah McGillicuddy, claims that he created the game for his friends and family to play. His family loved the game so much that he recreated the game for the rest of his community and it went on to become a huge hit. In Kentucky though, the people refer to corn hole as its other name, hillbilly horseshoes or bags.
OHIO
On the other hand, Ohio would challenge that claim. Cincinnati to be exact claims to be the home of the beloved cornhole boards. However, this claim might have a little bit more credibility than the others. Matthias Kaupermann, remember the German cabinet maker from before, well it's said that he moved his family from Germany all the way over to Cincinnati. You see, Ohio has a large population of Germans, so it would seem plausible for this to hold value. The theory continues that Kaupermann brought over his perfected cornhole game and shared it with everyone else. Of course, even to this day, Cincinnati is still insanely obsessed with cornhole boards.
THE ANSWER
So there is no accurate answer. All of these theories make some sense and hold plausibility. In fact, all of them could very well be true. A game comprised of throwing objects into a hole isn’t really something hard to come up with. What made Cornhole famous was its simple rules and ease of play. It was also popular because all different kinds of age groups could play together and still have fun. As the game grew the mystery behind the name and origins only added to its charm.
|
