Rapid-fire Pickleball evolves over 60 years as one of America’s most popular sports
BY REID CREAGER
Oh, that zany Pickles. The family dog often chased errant balls from a newly invented game—basically a version of tennis on a smaller court, with a lighter ball—and hid in the bushes.
That’s the cute story about how one of America’s fastest-growing sports got its name as Pickleball celebrates its 60th anniversary. You’ll find that fun fact all over our cut-and-paste internet, where research has often gone to the dogs.
Digging a little deeper (pun intended squared, and we promise we’re done) reveals that according to playpickleball.com, USA Pickleball investigated the Pickles posit and found records that the dog was born in 1968—three years after the sport’s invention.
Joel Pritchard—a former U.S. congressman and one of three inventors of the sport on Bainbridge Island, Washington—reportedly told a reporter decades ago that the dog story sounded better and simpler than what is the truth: His wife, Joan, said the game reminded her of rowers who raced for fun in local pickle boat crew competitions.
Mix of 3 sports
The sport invented by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, said to be something to do for their bored children, is Exhibit A for innovation. They came up with the idea at a badminton court when, lacking the proper equipment to play, they improvised with Ping Pong paddles and a kind of Wiffle ball.
Pritchard and his friends are said to have established the rules, with McCallum refining them while promoting the game and organized tournaments. The inventors made money on it by incorporating Pickle Ball, Inc.
Rather than a game invented from scratch, Pickleball incorporates elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis with the use of a hard paddle/racket and perforated ball. A standard tennis court is 78 feet long and 27 feet wide for singles matches and 36 feet wide for doubles matches; a standard Pickleball court is 44 feet long and 20 feet wide for singles or doubles play.
If you assume Pickleball is basically for people who don’t have the stamina to navigate the longer and wider tennis court, you haven’t played the game.
Slower? Not so fast. The shorter area facilitates lightning volleys and generally requires quicker reflexes. Racket handling, ball control and court positioning are at an added premium.
One of the most succinct quotes associated with the sport is: “In pickleball, the quickest way to lose a point is to think you’ve already won it.”
Surging in past 15 years
On the other hand, the game’s early growth and popularity unfolded as slowly as a game of golf.
The first permanent pickleball court was built in 1967. Five years later, a corporation was formed to protect it; by 1975, the National Observer became the first mainstream media to write about the sport.
The first known tournament was held in 1976 at South Center Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington.
More growth and advancement game in the 1980s with the establishment of the United States Amateur Pickleball Association and the invention of composite paddles. The game really hasn’t become well known until the past 15 years or so; the establishment of the International Federation of Pickleball in the 2010s underscored its worldwide expansion.
According to PickleGO: “The surge in participation during the decade saw millions of players joining tournaments and events worldwide, further solidifying pickleball’s status as a dynamic and inclusive sport for people of all ages and backgrounds. This unprecedented growth trajectory promises a bright future for pickleball as it continues to captivate enthusiasts and expand its reach globally.”
In 2022, Tom Brady became the owner of a Major League Pickleball team, with many calling Pickleball America’s fastest-growing sport.
A final claim
Future growth will happen without the presence of the sport’s three founders, all in the Pickleball Hall of Fame.
Pritchard died in 1997, Bell in 2006. Pritchard and McCallum were in the hall’s inaugural class of 2017, with Bell also inducted posthumously in 2020.
Even in death, debate over the naming of Pickleball lives on—with McCallum’s version conflicting with what Pritchard had told reporters about the dog tale simply being good copy (not to mention the simple math uncovered by USA Pickleball).
Ironically, in a post by USA Pickleball on November 19, 2019, after McCallum died at 93, one of his friends was quoted as saying: “Barney always said, ‘Pickleball was named after the dog Pickles. End of story.’ He should know. He was there!”