Cornhole Hits the Target Across Texas

By Ellie Holmes
For Reporting Texas

Growing up in North Texas, Chad Jacobson pitched washers in his backyard with his three brothers.

In 2010, his neighbor, Joel Johnson, invited him over to play a game called cornhole. Jacobson jokingly protested the idea of tossing beanbags into holes on a board – like horseshoes. It seemed too simple. He swore it lacked the precision of washers.

But Jacobson decided to pick up a bag anyway.

Before he knew it, he was hooked. Three years later, the 34-year old father of four runs the Texas Cornhole League, with more than 800 players in nine regions across Texas.

“I would have never believed this would happen,” Jacobson said.

The origins of cornhole are highly contested. Many trace its beginnings to Europe. A German legend says Matthias Kuepermann created the game when he gave unruly neighbor kids burlap bags filled with a pound of corn and a 6-inch box to play with — instead of rocks. Some think this might be where the name comes from. Other fans say that in the 19th century, Kentucky farmer Jebediah McGillicuddy created the game in his barn with family and friends. And yet another explanation is that the Blackhawk tribe, of what is now Illinois,  filled pig bladders with dried beans and tossed them competitively into holes in the ground. Two Ohio cities — Cleveland and Cincinnati – both claim to be the birthplace of cornhole.

The game is now a popular backyard game throughout the Midwest and South and is often played at college football tailgates.

Jacobson and Johnson saw a future beyond backyards. In summer 2010, they created an event called the J&J Tournament.

Thirty-two two-player teams entered. Players tossed 6-by-6-inch square beanbags at wooden platforms 2 feet wide and 4 feet deep, and 33 feet apart.

If the bag hit the platform, a player was awarded one point. A bag thrown into the 6-inch hole got three.

The idea took hold. Jacobson created a second tournament later that year at the Mule Barn in Justin, 27 miles north of Fort Worth. Eighty-one teams played, convincing Jacobson to start a league and play around the state.

The first geographic division was the Fort Worth Region near his home in Roanoke. Family living in San Antonio helped him to expand and create the Alamo City Region. Tournaments are played at sports bars and grills picked by regional directors.

Jacobson said the expansion to nine regions in three years was the result of a grassroots effort – word of mouth, networking with venues and social media all got the word out about the Texas Cornhole League.

What attracts people to the game, Jacobson says, is its inclusivity.

“Cornhole is a game that, literally, anybody can play,” he said. “Kids from 10 years old up to 80-year-old men, women, children – tall and big athletic people to grandmothers can play this game.”

The league will have 15 regions by 2015. Last year, 825 people played cornhole in league events.

Johnson said the game and the tournaments have always had a strong family focus. The first J&J tournament had a slip-and-slide and bounce house for the kids.

Jacobson agreed. He said regional directors steer away from the “bar scene.” At their state tournament, Jacobson and the directors search for hotels with amenities that cater to families with children.

And there is always a bounce house.

Rick Welch of Bryan and his 28-year-old son Travis have played cornhole in the Central Texas region, at Rockies in College Station, for two years.

Travis Welch’s quick success sparked Rick’s interest, and he signed up as an entertainment player, a less competitive division than Travis’ master level in the B Class.  TCL’s classifications range from E, for entertainment, to A, all-American. The entertainment players, like Rick, compete purely for recreation. Travis’ B class is made up of players who dominate leaderboards at almost every tournament they enter. A’s are reserved for those recognized as pros by the American Cornhole Organization.

For the first time since his days on the high school baseball team, Travis Welch and his father were playing and practicing a sport together. This time, Travis was the seasoned mentor. Rick developed quite an arm and found himself a doubles partner, too.

In January, Rick had made his way to the entertainment division state championships with his partner. Travis did the same in the master.

Father and son each won his respective division.

“It’s pretty cool to see your banner hanging with your name on it and your partner’s name on it and your son and his partner’s,” Rick said.

Jacobson calls cornhole players “weekend warriors.” There is a competitive division, but no professional circuit in the Texas league. Insurance agents, doctors and teachers make up the league. The bulk of the players are men and average about mid-30s, but range from 26 to 40.  The league also has a women’s bracket that makes up about 25 percent of the league.

Money made through sponsors, entry fees and merchandise sales go back directly to the league to help it grow even further across Texas and payouts for tournament winners—the highest payout was $3,000 in men’s doubles in 2013, according to Jacobson.

Jacobson has a new business partner now, as Johnson’s teacher schedule could not adapt to the league’s growing success. Jacobson has managed to juggle the league work with his paying job in credit card processing; he is a liaison between retailers and their credit card services. He and the regional directors work on a volunteer basis.

Johnson’s name is still on the J&J Tournament, though, and he tries to make it to a few tournaments a year.

He says after getting to know Jacobson over the past few years, in hindsight, the success is really no surprise.

“He [Chad] is one of those guys who gets an idea and he’s going to take it and run with it and it’s going to be the biggest thing,” he said. “All of the popularity of the game in the state and the regions and the tournaments, really, is all because of him. He had a vision and carried it through.”