By Jake Brannon
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
When Dayton Webber woke up on Sept. 13, he had no idea he was hours away from getting the best news of his life.
When a few of his friends texted the 23-year-old asking questions like “did you get the email yet?” and “hey, what did it say?” Webber knew immediately what the news might be.
He quickly opened his phone, saw an email from the American Cornhole League and couldn’t believe it: he had been accepted as a league pro for the 2021-2022 season.
This is the more extraordinary for the Leonardtown resident who, when he was just 10 months old, was diagnosed with a bacterial infection called streptococcus pneumoniae. Doctors gave him a 3% chance of survival and said the only way to stop the infection from spreading to the rest of the body was to amputate both of his arms and legs. Today, he is the first quadruple amputee in the league’s history
The American Cornhole League is the world-wide governing body for professional cornhole and was founded in 2015. Each year, 256 players make up the Pro Division, the best of the best in the country. With over 8,000 current active players, it has quickly become the biggest cornhole organization in the world.
Trey Ryder, the league’s media director, was a part of the selection process for this year’s pro division. He said it was Webber’s pure talent that made him get accepted.
“We just saw that he had made a step-in performance that had brought him right into that pro level,” Ryder said. “And so ultimately based on his performances over the past year and his dedication is what led to his acceptance.”
Ryder also said that Webber has the potential to compete with the best athletes in the sport.
“We wouldn’t accept anybody into our pro division that we didn’t feel like had potential to be something special,” Ryder said, “and Dayton is no exception to that rule.”
During the season, which started Oct. 1, Webber will be playing doubles with Michael Hoffman. Hoffman, a 46-year-old Dunkirk resident, said he looks forward to continuing to play with Webber.
“What I can tell you is both Dayton and I are extremely grateful for the opportunity,” Hoffman said. “And we’re both really excited about it.”
Webber said his biggest goal in life is to inspire as many people as he can.
“I feel like this is a huge step in getting my word out there and just trying to be the best person I can be,” Webber said. “And in the meantime, being an inspiration for everyone that watches.”
The ACL appears in multiple broadcasts on networks such as ESPN and CBS. Webber’s goal is to make it onto one of those streams, he said.
“My main goal is to make it on an ESPN or CBS broadcast,” Webber said. “I want to make it. It would be so sick.”