McKeesport resident Keith Perry earns American Cornhole League professional contract

McKeesport resident Keith Perry has been playing cornhole for a majority of his life, but until recently it was never more than a game he played in his backyard during family barbecues or tailgating for a local sporting event.

Then, in April 2019 Perry had a revelation. He and his fiancee, Dana, were playing in a local cornhole tournament at Cal’s Cantina in McKeesport in celebration of the restaurant’s 25th anniversary. They won that tournament, and, two weeks later, Perry, 47, was sitting around his house and learned about the American Cornhole League, which is the largest organization of its kind, while watching a tournament that was being aired on ESPN.

“I had watched it but never really put the correlation together of how I could become a part of it,” Perry said. “So I signed up and got my membership.”

Once Perry, who is the director of enrollment for the entry level masters of science program at La Roche, got involved in more tournaments and started gaining momentum. He knew he wanted to become an ACL pro, which is a group that never exceeds 256, and a little over a year later, Perry has accomplished that goal.

During the first full week of August, Perry and his fiancee traveled to Rock Hill, S.C., to compete in the 2020 ACL World Championship. The former West Mifflin basketball star competed in the ACL Pro Qualifier, which had 256 people competing for 32 professional contracts.

Perry went 6-2 during the tournament, placed 18th, and earned his professional contract for the 2020-21 season, which is set to begin in September.

“I didn’t see it turning out like this. I was just a competitive guy, and it was a nice hobby. I never could’ve imagined it,” Perry said a day after signing his pro contract. “It’s so surreal, too, because once I got going, I wanted to become a pro, and now I’m like, ‘Now what? Now, what am I supposed to do?’ Because there is some crazy talent out there.”

Perry’s journey to becoming a pro was an interesting one.

It started when he was playing in a tournament in Pittsburgh, and longtime ACL pro, Chuckie Love, who is Perry’s pro partner, pulled him aside and asked him how serious he was about becoming a pro.

“I told him that I was extremely serious, and I want to do this,” Perry said.

Love told Perry to come to the ACL Cleveland September Regional last September to compete against some of the best players in the area. During ACL events, there are normally three tournaments: singles, doubles and a blind draw.

In the blind draw tournament, which is when players are randomly selected to compete as partners, Perry was partnered with first-year pro Alan Skotko, who was ranked the 119th pro at the end of this past season. The pair went on to win the tournament, which gave Perry a little bit of confidence.

“After that day, I knew that I could probably compete with anyone if I play my best game,” Perry said. “That was kind of the ah-ha moment for me.”

Throughout the rest of the year, Perry continued to compete in tournaments and improve his game. At the end of January, Perry decided to compete in the ACL’s first national event of the year in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., during Super Bowl weekend.

Perry wasn’t yet a pro, so he competed in the advanced division, which is a step below the pro division, even though he was still considered a “competitive” player by ACL standards. Perry placed ninth in the tournament and later received a letter from the ACL that he was moving up to the advanced division.

Things continued to progress for Perry until the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, and he went from playing in-person tournaments to playing virtual tournaments.

“I was just setting up my phone and going Facebook Live and really just competing against myself and seeing how many bags I could make during a 10-round individual game,” Perry said. “That just kept me active while tournaments were on hold.”

The former Edinboro and Point Park basketball player did that until August, when the ACL was able to hold its world championships, where he earned his pro contract, which he said was an amazing experience.

“As a kid, you go out and you play and you pretend that your Michael Jordan or Mario Lemieux or whoever,” Perry said. “So whenever I went down for the first time, I got to see, in person, some of the top players on the planet, and for a minute it was a little bit intimidating because these guys are just amazing. But I remember just telling myself that I was there for a reason.”

Now, with the uncertainty surrounding in-person tournaments for the 2020-21 season, Perry has been doing whatever it takes to keep himself ready for his first season as a pro. He said he has been throwing bags five or six days a week for one or two hours a day.

But for now, he is staying ready and reminiscing on what it’s taken to get this far and accomplish a goal.

“It’s been a journey, and I think when people think about cornhole, they think about drinking some beers in the backyard,” Perry said. “I’m not so sure if people realize the magnitude of it.”

As a pro, Perry can have sponsors as he plans to travel the country to compete. Anyone interested in sponsoring him can contact him at 412-592-2206.