The Cornhole Worldwide Story

Corn WHAT?

Cornhole is an ultra-social outdoor lawn game that involves 2 game boards with a large hole in them and 8 corn-filled throwing bags. The game consists of 4 players divided into two teams, with each team alternating throws to try and get the bags on the boards and into the hole until one of the teams reaches 21 points. In essence, Cornhole is a modern, portable variation of horseshoes.

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Oh! You Mean Bag Toss?

No. We don’t mean bag toss. You might have heard someone calling it bags, corn toss, bean toss, corn bags etc. – but let’s be clear – the name of the game is Cornhole. How do we know? Well, the first documented game of Cornhole was in Cincinnati, OH where we were founded and are still headquartered.

The Man. The Myth. The Legend.

According to common lore, a variation of Cornhole originated several hundred years ago as a game where ancient civilizations would throw rocks into holes for fun. To be honest, that’s probably what every sport with a ball originated from… but that’s off topic. After the ancient people, the native Americans allegedly filled dried pigs’ bladders with beans – hence “bean” bags. Are these stories true? We have no idea.

Anyway, skip forward a couple hundred years and we have the story of Matthias Kuepermann from Germany. According to a very reliable source (internet blogs) Kuepermann saw some boys throwing rocks at a hole in the ground – sound slightly familiar? Kuepermann decided to help make the game easier to play by filling burlap bags with corn so they could throw into a square box he constructed instead of a hole in the ground. Although fun, corn prices rose dramatically around this time and virtually eliminated the game. Legend has it, though, that in the 1800s the Germans that immigrated to Cincinnati reintroduced the game as they were then able to afford corn again. Is this story true? Probably. Who knows?

Here Comes the Drama: Bum Bum BUMMMMMMM…

Contrary to Cornhole originating from the Germans, some say it came from a farmer in the hills of Kentucky around the 1800s. Jebediah McGillicuddy, a Kentucky farmer, is rumored to have invented the game cornhole. Apparently McGillicuddy invented cornhole as a fun game to play and pass the time on the farm with his friends, family and animals – just kidding, animals can’t play Cornhole!

Where did Cornhole really come from? We may never know…

Think the Name is Funny? Here are Some Terms that Go with Cornhole

• Ace|Cow Pie: A bag lands on the board, which is worth one point.
• Dirty Rollup: A bag that goes over the top of a blocker and into the hole.
• Cornado: When a player dominates a game in such a way that they destroy everyone in their wake.
• Cornhole: A bag that falls in the hole, which is worth three points.
• Cornstar: A person who defines supreme confidence and nearly divine ability at Cornhole.
• Dirty bag: A bag that is on the ground or is hanging off the board touching the ground.
• Grasshopper: A bag that bounces off the grass or ground and lands on the board for a point.
• Screaming Eagle: A bag that goes beyond the board without hitting the board.
• Hanger: An ace on the lip of the hole ready to drop.
• Leprechaun: When a player attains all four bags onto the board without getting any into the hole.
• Sally: A toss that is thrown too weakly and lands on the ground before reaching the board.
• Shucker: When a player pitches a bag and it strikes an opposing players bag knocking it off the board.