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# From a Game at School to the NCBA: The Season That Started It All
The NCBA’s first season had it all: changing #1 players, fierce rivalries, Samuel H.’s “Miracles on Carpet,” Connor L.’s surprise rise, and even the banned Shazam Throw. It ended with Easton P. battling through the loser’s bracket to win the first NCBA Championship.
# From a Game at School to the NCBA: The Season That Started It All
**By John J. | NCBA News**
Before there were championship records, rivalries and rankings, there was simply carpet ball.
Then Easton P. started playing.
What grew from there became the National Carpet Ball Association, and its first major season produced breakout stars, strange strategies, remarkable comebacks, a banned throw and a championship run through the loser's bracket.
With a new season approaching, here is the story of the season that built the NCBA.
## Asher D. Becomes the First Name at the Top
One of the earliest stars was **Asher D.**, who briefly held the No. 1 ranking at the beginning of the season.
His time at the top didn't last long, but Asher D. became known as a talented player—and for creating one of the most infamous techniques in early NCBA history.
It became known as the **"Shazam Throw."**
The technique was eventually banned over concerns that it could potentially hurt someone.
Asher D. will not return for the upcoming season, but his brief stay at No. 1 and his outlawed throwing technique have already secured him an unusual place in NCBA history.
## Easton P. Starts Strong, but Connor L. Changes Everything
NCBA President **Easton P.** emerged as one of the strongest players early in the season.
Easton P. won most of the league's early tournaments, although many of those events featured relatively small fields.
For a while, he appeared to be establishing himself as the player to beat.
Then **Connor L.** decided to play carpet ball.
Connor L. didn't arrive with a reputation as one of the league's best. He simply started playing—and almost immediately showed that he belonged near the top.
Even stranger was how he did it.
While players such as Logan M. would eventually become known for speed, Connor L. often did nearly the opposite. He threw the ball unusually slowly.
It worked.
*"You'd look at the throw and think it wasn't going to do much,"* Easton P. recalled in an interview. *"Then somehow it worked. And then he'd do it again."*
Connor L. eventually overtook Easton P. for the **No. 1 ranking**.
One of their closest encounters went all the way to a tiebreak. Easton P. had led during the match and came within a tiebreak of knocking off Connor L. during the height of his run.
It was becoming clear that Connor L.’s emergence wasn't temporary.
## Rivalries Begin to Form
As the league grew, so did its rivalries.
Two in particular began to stand above the rest.
**Easton P. vs. Ari K.** became one of the season's major recurring matchups as Ari K. established himself as one of the strongest players in the NCBA.
Meanwhile, **Connor L. vs. Triston T.** developed into another important rivalry.
Triston T. accomplished something few players could manage during Connor L.’s rise: **he beat him**.
Triston T. became one of the first players to defeat Connor L. after Connor L. had established himself as a top competitor.
Those matchups helped transform what had begun as people playing carpet ball into something resembling an actual league.
There were players to beat.
There were rematches people wanted to see.
And increasingly, there were reputations on the line.
## The Miracles on Carpet
Then there was **Samuel H.**.
Samuel H. developed perhaps the most unlikely reputation of anyone in the league.
He could be nearly beaten—and somehow not lose.
Multiple times, Samuel H. came back after trailing **6–1**, producing performances that became known as the **"Miracles on Carpet."**
One of the most memorable came against **William A.**.
William A. built what should have been an overwhelming advantage.
Samuel H. came back and won.
*"At some point, 6–1 stopped feeling safe against Samuel H.,"* one NCBA observer said. *"Against almost anyone else, you're thinking about the next game. Against him, apparently you keep playing."*
Samuel H. would eventually become NCBA Secretary, but the Miracles on Carpet ensured that his name was already part of league history.
## The Bed Co. Season Closer Changes the Rankings
By the end of the regular season, Connor L. had established himself at No. 1.
Then came **The Bed Co. Season Closer Tournament**.
The event was organized quickly, but its effect on the league was enormous.
Easton P. won the tournament.
Connor L. failed to medal.
William A. finished third, while records indicate Triston T. likely finished second.
Suddenly, the balance at the top changed.
Easton P.’s tournament victory pushed him back into **first place in the NCBA rankings**, ending Connor L.’s stay at the top at the most important moment of the season.
But there was still one tournament left.
And it was the biggest one.
## Easton P. Loses—and Then Wins the NCBA Championship
Unlike the single-elimination tournaments planned for the upcoming NCBA season, the original **NCBA Championship used a double-elimination format**.
That distinction became extremely important.
Easton P. lost his first game.
In a single-elimination tournament, the championship run would have ended there.
Instead, he was sent into the loser's side of the bracket.
And he didn't lose again.
Easton P. fought his way back through the tournament and ultimately reached the championship, completing the comeback to become the **NCBA Champion**.
**Logan M.**, already developing a reputation for some of the fastest throws in the league, finished second.
**Ari K.** finished third, putting a championship medal alongside a season that had often been overshadowed by the attention surrounding Easton P. and Connor L.
Connor L., despite having spent part of the season ranked No. 1, again failed to medal.
The season ended with Easton P. having accomplished something no other player could claim: victory in both **The Bed Co. Season Closer Tournament and the NCBA Championship**.
## The Season That Created a League
The first NCBA season wasn't polished.
Some tournaments were small. The Season Closer was rushed. Strategies were still being invented—and, in at least one case, banned.
But that's also what made the season important.
Asher D. briefly became No. 1 and left behind the infamous Shazam Throw.
Connor L. appeared almost from nowhere, used an unconventional slow-throwing strategy and climbed to No. 1.
Triston T. became one of the first players to prove Connor L. could be beaten.
Samuel H. turned 6–1 deficits into the Miracles on Carpet.
William A. found himself on the wrong side of one of those miracles but later earned a podium finish at the Season Closer.
Ari K. developed a rivalry with Easton P. and eventually took third at the championship.
Logan M. threw his way into the championship final.
And Easton P. lost his first championship game, survived the loser's bracket and came back to win the entire thing.
The NCBA began because Easton P. started playing carpet ball.
By the end of the season, it had rankings, tournaments, rivalries, officers, a banned technique and a champion.
Now it has something else.
**A history.**
And in one week, the next chapter begins.
**John J.**
*NCBA News*
**By John J. | NCBA News**
Before there were championship records, rivalries and rankings, there was simply carpet ball.
Then Easton P. started playing.
What grew from there became the National Carpet Ball Association, and its first major season produced breakout stars, strange strategies, remarkable comebacks, a banned throw and a championship run through the loser's bracket.
With a new season approaching, here is the story of the season that built the NCBA.
## Asher D. Becomes the First Name at the Top
One of the earliest stars was **Asher D.**, who briefly held the No. 1 ranking at the beginning of the season.
His time at the top didn't last long, but Asher D. became known as a talented player—and for creating one of the most infamous techniques in early NCBA history.
It became known as the **"Shazam Throw."**
The technique was eventually banned over concerns that it could potentially hurt someone.
Asher D. will not return for the upcoming season, but his brief stay at No. 1 and his outlawed throwing technique have already secured him an unusual place in NCBA history.
## Easton P. Starts Strong, but Connor L. Changes Everything
NCBA President **Easton P.** emerged as one of the strongest players early in the season.
Easton P. won most of the league's early tournaments, although many of those events featured relatively small fields.
For a while, he appeared to be establishing himself as the player to beat.
Then **Connor L.** decided to play carpet ball.
Connor L. didn't arrive with a reputation as one of the league's best. He simply started playing—and almost immediately showed that he belonged near the top.
Even stranger was how he did it.
While players such as Logan M. would eventually become known for speed, Connor L. often did nearly the opposite. He threw the ball unusually slowly.
It worked.
*"You'd look at the throw and think it wasn't going to do much,"* Easton P. recalled in an interview. *"Then somehow it worked. And then he'd do it again."*
Connor L. eventually overtook Easton P. for the **No. 1 ranking**.
One of their closest encounters went all the way to a tiebreak. Easton P. had led during the match and came within a tiebreak of knocking off Connor L. during the height of his run.
It was becoming clear that Connor L.’s emergence wasn't temporary.
## Rivalries Begin to Form
As the league grew, so did its rivalries.
Two in particular began to stand above the rest.
**Easton P. vs. Ari K.** became one of the season's major recurring matchups as Ari K. established himself as one of the strongest players in the NCBA.
Meanwhile, **Connor L. vs. Triston T.** developed into another important rivalry.
Triston T. accomplished something few players could manage during Connor L.’s rise: **he beat him**.
Triston T. became one of the first players to defeat Connor L. after Connor L. had established himself as a top competitor.
Those matchups helped transform what had begun as people playing carpet ball into something resembling an actual league.
There were players to beat.
There were rematches people wanted to see.
And increasingly, there were reputations on the line.
## The Miracles on Carpet
Then there was **Samuel H.**.
Samuel H. developed perhaps the most unlikely reputation of anyone in the league.
He could be nearly beaten—and somehow not lose.
Multiple times, Samuel H. came back after trailing **6–1**, producing performances that became known as the **"Miracles on Carpet."**
One of the most memorable came against **William A.**.
William A. built what should have been an overwhelming advantage.
Samuel H. came back and won.
*"At some point, 6–1 stopped feeling safe against Samuel H.,"* one NCBA observer said. *"Against almost anyone else, you're thinking about the next game. Against him, apparently you keep playing."*
Samuel H. would eventually become NCBA Secretary, but the Miracles on Carpet ensured that his name was already part of league history.
## The Bed Co. Season Closer Changes the Rankings
By the end of the regular season, Connor L. had established himself at No. 1.
Then came **The Bed Co. Season Closer Tournament**.
The event was organized quickly, but its effect on the league was enormous.
Easton P. won the tournament.
Connor L. failed to medal.
William A. finished third, while records indicate Triston T. likely finished second.
Suddenly, the balance at the top changed.
Easton P.’s tournament victory pushed him back into **first place in the NCBA rankings**, ending Connor L.’s stay at the top at the most important moment of the season.
But there was still one tournament left.
And it was the biggest one.
## Easton P. Loses—and Then Wins the NCBA Championship
Unlike the single-elimination tournaments planned for the upcoming NCBA season, the original **NCBA Championship used a double-elimination format**.
That distinction became extremely important.
Easton P. lost his first game.
In a single-elimination tournament, the championship run would have ended there.
Instead, he was sent into the loser's side of the bracket.
And he didn't lose again.
Easton P. fought his way back through the tournament and ultimately reached the championship, completing the comeback to become the **NCBA Champion**.
**Logan M.**, already developing a reputation for some of the fastest throws in the league, finished second.
**Ari K.** finished third, putting a championship medal alongside a season that had often been overshadowed by the attention surrounding Easton P. and Connor L.
Connor L., despite having spent part of the season ranked No. 1, again failed to medal.
The season ended with Easton P. having accomplished something no other player could claim: victory in both **The Bed Co. Season Closer Tournament and the NCBA Championship**.
## The Season That Created a League
The first NCBA season wasn't polished.
Some tournaments were small. The Season Closer was rushed. Strategies were still being invented—and, in at least one case, banned.
But that's also what made the season important.
Asher D. briefly became No. 1 and left behind the infamous Shazam Throw.
Connor L. appeared almost from nowhere, used an unconventional slow-throwing strategy and climbed to No. 1.
Triston T. became one of the first players to prove Connor L. could be beaten.
Samuel H. turned 6–1 deficits into the Miracles on Carpet.
William A. found himself on the wrong side of one of those miracles but later earned a podium finish at the Season Closer.
Ari K. developed a rivalry with Easton P. and eventually took third at the championship.
Logan M. threw his way into the championship final.
And Easton P. lost his first championship game, survived the loser's bracket and came back to win the entire thing.
The NCBA began because Easton P. started playing carpet ball.
By the end of the season, it had rankings, tournaments, rivalries, officers, a banned technique and a champion.
Now it has something else.
**A history.**
And in one week, the next chapter begins.
**John J.**
*NCBA News*