Pride of the Chatham A’s: Cornhole Boards
About this time one year ago, my friend Matt (well, in this case, “frienenemy” Matt, more on that later), was building his own custom cornhole boards. Three years earlier, I had done the same thing with my neighbor, now friend Tom, when we both first moved into the neighborhood. Side bar: There is no better way to bond with your new neighbor by building your very own cornhole boards together. The combination of playing with power tools, making supply runs, and celebrating small successes with a cold one was plain old fun. I highly recommend building your own boards if you have the time.
Now frenenemy Matt’s architectural plans called for a customized paint job of the logos of his, and his wife Kate’s, college alma maters. Since the boards neighbor Tom and I built took a little longer than we told our better halves to expect, construction was our only goal. A paint job would have to wait – 3 years. While I’ve always wanted to paint the boards, I never gave much thought to settling on a theme, logo and colors. At first, I liked the rustically toned, barren wood look; it kind of fit into our woodsy backyard. It later dawned on me while ‘tossing bags’ in our Chatham front yard, to make the theme of the boards the one and only Chatham A’s of the Cape Cod Baseball League. That was one year ago.
My appreciation for the Cape Cod Baseball League stems from the 1980s while attending one of their week-long youth baseball clinics. The clinics are half-day camp for the 8-14 year old avid baseball players, whose parents needed a deserved break. I loved every moment of that week. I didn’t mind getting up early or running in the heat because the coaches are all current Chatham A’s players. Big Brothers. Heroes. And remember, 1 in every 6 Cape league players gets called up to the show so getting coached by future major leaguers is pretty cool. My dad even bought a dozen donuts for the coaches the last day of the clinic to show his appreciation for returning a happy (i.e., tired) child.
Three of the six teams caved to the pressure from MLB, including Chatham (formerly A’s, now Anglers), Hyannis (formerly Mets, now Harbor Hawks), and Orleans (formerly Cardinals, now Firebirds). In Chatham’s case, team officials smartly chose “Anglers”, a name with a strong cultural reference to the town’s maritime history and current industry, plus the name starting with the letter “A” provided clever branding similar to how their old “A’s” logo was used. Three other teams, Bourne Braves, Harwich Mariners, and Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox kept their hometown heritage but could not use the full team name in any merchandise sales. Their uniforms/t-shirts could only read “Harwich” or “Mariners,” but cannot be used together. All Cape teams have come to terms with MLB with their logos and names, but must pay a royalty fee on all merchandise sold. That’s right folks, MLB squeezing dollars from an all volunteer organizations! I doubt this is a surprise to anyone, but certainly a good example of what is wrong with professional sports and how the Cape league provides a solid alternative.
At this point, you may be asking what’s with all the history and background? Because I used a lost Chatham A’s logo for one of the boards. So perhaps the boards will subtly point out or lead to a conversation of the ridiculous MLB trademark issue while providing a fun outdoor activity. Now that I think about it, because of the trademark issue, individual Cape Cod team cornhole boards are probably not likely.
Frenemy Matt enlarged the blurry green logo by using a projector to then trace the image onto the primed board. The same process was used for the painting of the second board, the current logo. The time-lapse series of photos shows below how long and who helped make these boards. I thank Ellen, Matt and Tom for their proficiency with power tools, projectors and paintbrushes. I remain beyond happy with the finished product. The cornhole boards are now ready for prime time at Veteran’s Field for the 2018 season – and will make their game day debut on Saturday, June 16.
Picking up on one reason I started writing – “I remain inspired by people who not only care deeply about their communities, but take action and give back, so that everyone benefits,” – to highlight people giving back with the hope others will follow. In the spirit of Sydney Sheldon, these people are “trying to leave the Earth in a better place than when they arrived.”
First off, thank you to the Cape Cod Chronicle and Cape Cod Times for choosing to cover this kind of work. The missions of nonprofit 
organizations – their work enhancing our shared quality of life – brings people together for a common purpose that benefits everyone in the long run. Whether donations of time, money, in-kind gifts, or connections, regular people’s actions have the ability to make a difference. Remember that. It’s hard not to feel good knowing many businesses, residents and visitors are working to improve our community.
